Debate: Prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market
Date: MONDAY, 22 APRIL 2024
Speaker: Samira Rafaela
Country: Germany
Language: EN

For too long, we have accepted products and services that are cheap, at the expense of societal consequences on the people involved in the production or supply chains. Almost 30 million people are working in inhumane conditions and slaved, sometimes for life, to produce goods and services exported around the world, notably to our markets. And 13 million victims are women and girls. Forced labour touches the very essence of gender inequality. We see women and girls placed in environments that set them back significantly in life, time and again. We see women and children imposed upon with reality that is ugly and unjust. Several companies earn altogether around USD 236 billion thanks to these practices over the back of the people. And I’m happy that many of you stood firm with us when we negotiated and demanded a comprehensive definition of remediation in the regulation. Even though some parties were immovable until the very end.  I firmly believe and am convinced that mainstreaming, remediation and regulation will lead to transitional justice for victims. We have worked for decades in sweatshops, factories and other dire and dark circumstances to support unethical supply chains. The faces, names and stories shall be and must be recognised. The regulation will also ensure that we address not only forced labour, but also state imposed forced labour through a risk-based approach. This approach will enable European national authorities, along with the European Commission, to lead investigations into suspected cases of forced labour.  The regulation will further enhance inter-European cooperation. Member States and their respective customs authorities will work together in the Union network with unified and facilitated access to comprehensive information on risk areas, products and gender aggregated data through the database and this will ease the work of authorities tasked with preventing products from entering the European market.  This regulation is also a significant opportunity for our companies and SMEs. Together with the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, companies will be prepared to address the significant issues ahead of us, making them more resilient, competitive and real drivers of change. And the regulation will also democratise the way we trade with our partners, while placing human rights and responsible business conduct at the forefront. People, consumers and other organisations will now also be able to take initiative when they realise that products do not comply with the newly set norms and together with the authorities, they will help us tackle the serious issue of forced labour.  It has been a true pleasure, a great honour and a privilege to serve in this House, and this sprint marks the end of my marathon. So I thank you very much for the cooperation and specifically towards my dear co-rapporteur Maria-Manuel Marquez. I am proud of what we do together in the EU and for each other, for intersectional policies and justice and for the people outside, around the world. And my final ask would be to vote in favour of this regulation tomorrow, and to the countries and partners watching, this is your moment to ratify ILO Protocol 29 to the Forced Labour Convention.