Activities of Pierrette HERZBERGER-FOFANA related to 2022/0269(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market
Amendments (23)
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The use of forced labour is widespread in the world. It is estimated that about 27.6 million people were in forced labour in 2021.18Vulnerable and marginalised groups in a society are particularly susceptible to be pressured into performingMost forced labour occurs in the private economy and has a strong gender dimension.Forced labour touches, in particular, services, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and domestic work, and to a smaller extent, mining and fishers aboard fishing vessels.Vulnerable and marginalised groups in a society, including the poor and socially excluded, workers in the informal economy, irregular or otherwise unprotected migrant workers, and people subject to discrimination, are the most affected byforced labour. Even when it is not state imposed, forced labour is often a consequence of a lack of good governance of certain economic operators. _________________ 18 The 2021 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public /---ed_norm/--- ipec/documents/publication/wcms_854733. pdf.
Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The eradication of forced labour is a priority for the Union. This Regulation aims to ban from the EU market products that have been produced, extracted or harvested using forced labour and, as ultimate objective, to eradicate forced labour by addressing its root causes. Respect for human dignity and the universality and indivisibility of human rights are firmly enshrined in Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union. Article 5(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights provide that no one is to be required to perform forced or compulsory labour. The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly interpreted Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights as requiring Member States to penalise and effectively prosecute any act maintaining a person in the situations described set out in Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights.19 _________________ 19 For instance paras. 89 and 102 in Siliadin v. France or para. 105 in Chowdury and Others v. Greece.
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) Through its policies and legislative initiatives the Union seeks to eradicate the use of forced labour and to address its root causes. To these effects, corporate sustainability due diligence, along with the ediction of accompanying measures, represents important tools. The Union promotes due diligence in accordance with international guidelines and principles established by international organisations, including the ILO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (hereinafter “OECD”) and the United Nations (hereinafter “UN”), to ensure that forced labour does not find a place in the value chains of undertakings established in the Union.
Amendment 97 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8 a (new)
Recital 8 a (new)
(8 a) Throughout, effective due diligence requires the meaningful engagement of stakeholders, including workers, their representative organisations, and community members, as they are best positioned to identify local risks and help formulate the most appropriate mitigation strategies. Attention should focus on identifying, prioritizing, and acting on “hotspots” where the risk of forced labour and other human rights abuses is highest in terms of both severity and scale. Particularly important in this context are the informal micro- and small enterprises operating at the lower links of supply chains in high- risk sectors and locations, often in raw materials extraction and production, where forced labour and other human rights abuses are often most pronounced.
Amendment 100 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 a (new)
Recital 12 a (new)
(12 a) Businesses can also contribute to addressing some of the more structural root causes of forced labour in high-risk locations linked to their business operations and supply chains. Examples of ongoing business efforts targeting root causes include measures to advance the fair recruitment of migrant workers, measures to help tackle poverty of workers in their supply chains through the adoption of living income programmes and measures to ban unfair trading practices in design or lead times.
Amendment 105 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14 a (new)
Recital 14 a (new)
(14 a) In addition, import control mechanisms are essential to capture contexts where human rights due diligence to credibly identify, prevent, mitigate, and remediate forced labour at the affected supplier are impossible. This is particularly relevant in cases of state- imposed forced labour affecting all supply chains in an entire country or region, which thereby require the establishment of region-wide bans.
Amendment 110 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18 a (new)
Recital 18 a (new)
(18 a) Remedy is a crucial part of the human rights due diligence process under the UNGPs and is critical to ensuring that a Forced Labour Instrument has a positive impact for workers and holds corporations to account. Remedy will encourage workers to come forward and report abuse. Accordingly, the Regulation must ensure the provision of effective remedy to affected rightholders.
Amendment 111 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18 b (new)
Recital 18 b (new)
(18 b) In particular, remediation processes and remedial action should be based on, and be aligned with, international standards of best practice, including through consultation with trade unions. Remedy may, for example, include apologies, restitution, rehabilitation and financial or non- financial compensation.
Amendment 112 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18 c (new)
Recital 18 c (new)
(18 c) In particular, the responsibility of importers to provide adequate remedy should also include an examination of their contribution through their bad purchasing practices, including predatory pricing, which may be pushing producing companies to resort to forced labour.
Amendment 117 #
(20) In order to increase the effectiveness of the prohibition, competent authorities should grant reasonable time to economic operators to identify, prevent, mitigate, preventmediate and bring to an end the risk of forced labour.
Amendment 122 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) Before initiating an investigation, competent authorities should request from the economic operators under assessment information on actions taken to mitigate, prevent or bring to an end risks of forced labour in their operations and value chains with respect to the products under assessment. Carrying out such due diligence in relation to forced labour should help the economic operator to be at a lower risk of having forced labour in its operations and value chains. Appropriate due diligence means that forced labour issues in the value chain have been identified and addressed in accordance with relevant Union legislation and international standards. That implies that where the competent authority considers that there is no substantiated concern of a violation of the prohibition, for instance due to, but not limited to the applicable legislation, guidelines, recommendations or any other due diligence in relation to forced labour being applied in a way that mitigates, prevents and brings to an end the risk of forced labour, no investigation should be initiated. However, implementing due diligence procedures should never act as (i) a safe haven against investigations, (ii) as proof no forced labour was used and (iii) as sole condition for the lifting of restrictions.
Amendment 163 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
1. This Regulation lays down rules prohibiting economic operators from placing and making available on the Union market or exporting from the Union market products made with forced labour, including state-imposed forced labour.
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) ‘due diligence in relation to forced labour’ means the efforts by economic operator to implement mandatory requiremendue diligence requirements, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human rights, voluntary guidelines, recommendations or practices to identify, prevent, mitigate, remediate or bring to an end the use of forced labour in their operation and value chain with respect to products that are to be made available on the Union market or to be exported;
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(c a) ‘bring to an end the use of forced labour’ means effective measures to address the root causes of forced labour that supplies the economic operator that places or makes the product available in the EU market. It shall not mean disengagement as first resort;
Amendment 174 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point c b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point c b (new)
(c b) 'root causes of forced labour' means the multi-faceted fundamental reasons for the occurrence of forced labour; this shall particularly look into exploitation, poverty, migration, prices below cost of production, lack of living incomes and living wages and unfair purchasing practices;
Amendment 194 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 a (new)
Article 3 a (new)
Article 3 a Prohibition of products made with state- imposed forced labour Economic operators shall not place or make available on the Union market products that are made with state-imposed forced labour, nor shall they export such products. In case of systematic state-imposed forced labour, and where appropriate, the establishment of region-wide bans over specific groups of products, and, where relevant, shall be enacted, in alignment with the EU global human rights sanctions regime.
Amendment 227 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 6
Article 6 – paragraph 6
6. Where economic operators provide evidence to the competent authorities that they have complied with the decision referred to in paragraph 4, and that they have eliminated forced labour from their operations or supply chain with respect to the products concerned, provided the proof of effective remediation for workers victims of forced labour, the competent authorities shall withdraw their decision for the future and inform the economic operators.
Amendment 228 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 6 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. To eliminate forced labour, the Commission’s Guidance on Due Diligence for EU businesses shall enable disengagement from a business relationship as a last resort solution only, in consistency with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
Amendment 229 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 6 b (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. If an economic operator determines that disengagement is the most appropriate action, it must strictly comply with national laws, international labour standards and the terms of collective bargaining agreements.
Amendment 258 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 6
Article 12 – paragraph 6
6. Member States shall confer on their competent authorities the power to impose penalties in accordance with Article 30, including with respect to the provision of remediation.
Amendment 291 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 1
Article 26 – paragraph 1
1. In order to facilitate effective implementation and enforcement of this Regulation, the Commission may as appropriateshall cooperate, engage and exchange information with, amongst others, authorities of third countries, international organisations, civil society representatives and business organisations. International cooperation with authorities of third countries shall take place in a structured way as part of the existing dialogue structures with third countries or, if necessary, specific ones that will be created on an ad hoc basis.
Amendment 297 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 2
Article 26 – paragraph 2
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, cooperation with, amongst others, international organisations, civil society representatives, business organisations and competent authorities of third countries mayshall result in the Union developing accompanying measures to support the efforts of companies and partner countries efforts and locally available capacities in tackling forced labourworkers, trade unions, civil society, human rights defenders, smallholders and local communities, wherever forced labour occurs, as well as the efforts of companies, in particular small and medium enterprises, and partner countries efforts and locally available capacities in tackling forced labour. This could include, among others, capacity strengthening and funding to support communities and workers to address the root causes of abuses such as discrimination, power imbalances, unfair purchasing practices and production delays, lack of livelihood opportunities, the absence of a living wage, land rights and the transition from informal economy to the formal economy.
Amendment 301 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 26 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. The following accompanying measures are notably foreseen: (a) supportive development policies to governments in producer countries to guarantee, protect and fultfil their international human rights obligations to implement decent labour conditions, inter alia by: (i) removing barriers to freedom of expression and association, and increased recognition of land rights; (ii) building national social protection floor, in order to reduce vulnerability to forced or compulsory labour; (iii) providing social and economic assistance, including access to educational and training opportunities and access to decent work, notably for at- risk population groups to increase their employability and income-earning opportunities and capacity; (iv) developing coherent policies, such as employment and labour migration policies, which take into account the risks faced by specific groups of migrants, including those in an irregular situation, and address circumstances that could result in forced labour situations. (b) supporting partner countries to develop encompassing National Action Plans on Forced Labour, with the aim to: (i) address the root causes of workers’ vulnerability to forced or compulsory labour; (ii) adopt and strengthen legislation on forced labour, covering the employment relationship of all sectors of the economy; (iii) provide effective protective measures to meet the needs of all victims, irrespective of their status (age, gender, ethnicity, migration status or any other ground for discrimination), for both immediate assistance and long-term recovery and rehabilitation; (iv) strengthen the enforcement of laws and prosecution; (v) raise awareness and engagement, especially for those who are most at risk of becoming victims of forced or compulsory labour, including migrants, to inform them, inter alia, about how to protect themselves against fraudulent or abusive recruitment and employment practices, their rights and responsibilities at work, how to gain access to assistance in case of need and about the sanctions for violating the prohibition on forced or compulsory labour.