Activities of Elżbieta RAFALSKA 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 (11)
Amendment 71 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) As recognised in the Preamble to the 2014 Protocol to Convention No. 29 on forced labour (‘ILO Convention No. 29’) of the International Labour Organization (‘ILO’), forced labour constitutes a serious violation of human dignity and fundamental human rights. The ILO declared the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour as a principle concerning the fundamental rights. The ILO classifies ILO Convention No. 29, the 2014 Protocol to Convention No. 29 and the ILO Convention No.105 on the abolition of forced labour (‘ILO Convention No.105’) as fundamental ILO Conventions16. Forced labour covers a wide variety of coercive labour practices where work or service is exacted from persons that have not offered it themselves voluntarily.17. It should be stressed, at the same time, that the definition of forced labour expressed in Article 2 of ILO Convention No. 29 was adopted almost 100 years ago and its scope should be defined as broad. _________________ 16 https://www.ilo.org/global/standards/introd uction-to-international-labour- standards/conventions-and- recommendations/lang--en/index.htm. 17 The ILO definition of forced labour according to the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1920 (No. 29), What is forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking (Forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking) (ilo.org).
Amendment 74 #
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 2021.18. Vulnerable and marginalised groups in a society are particularly susceptible to be pressured into performing forced labour. In addition, forced labour is in many cases carried out in a context of mobility and constant movement, in remote locations, including at sea, in rapidly and abruptly changing conditions, and in conditions of isolation or imprisonment, which significantly increases the risk of violations of workers' rights. Due to lack of access to medical care, highly risky working conditions, long working hours, lack of sleep and rest, noise, inability to provide medical care in case of accident or illness, lack of regulatory oversight and transparency, unclear recruitment systems, performing work in unregistered locations, including on unregistered vessels, poor condition of work equipment, and forced labour, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, including slaughtering, processing and fishing, result in a high susceptibility to illness, physical injury and a high rate of fatal workplace accidents. As cases of forced labour largely affect the productive sector, including agriculture, fishing and processing, there is a significant risk of products made using forced labour appearing on food markets. 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 75 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The eradication of forced labour is a priority for the Union. 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 ofAn interpretation to this effect has been provided by the European Court of Human Rights in the relevant case-law, which addresses issues of prior consent and voluntariness1a. In addition, the European Conventionurt onf Human Rights has requiringuled that Member States musto 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. _________________ 1a https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/FS_ Forced_labour_ENG.pdf 19 For instance paras. 89 and 102 in Siliadin v. France or para. 105 in Chowdury and Others v. Greece.
Amendment 80 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) The European Parliament in its resolutions strongly condemned forced labour and called for a ban on products made with forced labour.30. It is therefore a matter of public moral concern that products made with forced labour could be available on the Union market or exported to third countries without an effective mechanism to ban or withdraw such products, bearing in mind that cases of forced labour affect, inter alia, sectors such as agriculture, processing, fishing and transport, from which final products reach food markets characterised by a significant scale of consumption. _________________ 30 See Resolutions: MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on a new trade instrument to ban products made by forced labour (europa.eu), Texts adopted - Forced labour and the situation of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region - Thursday, 17 December 2020 (europa.eu), Texts adopted - Forced labour in the Linglong factory and environmental protests in Serbia - Thursday, 16 December 2021 (europa.eu).
Amendment 88 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) During the preliminary phase of investigation, competent authorities should focus on the economic operators involved in the steps of the value chain where there is a higher risk of forced labour with respect to the products under investigation, also taking into account the nature and working conditions of the sector in question, as well as their size and economic resources, the quantity of products concerned and the scale of the suspected forced labour.
Amendment 97 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 35
Recital 35
(35) The information currently made available to customs authorities by economic operators includes only general information on the products but lacks information on the manufacturer or producer and product suppliers as well as specific information on products. In order for customs authorities to be able to identify products entering or leaving the Union market that may violate the Regulation and should accordingly be stopped at the EU external borders, economic operators should submit to customs authorities information allowing matching a decision of the competent authorities with the product concerned. This should include information on the manufacturer or producer and the product suppliers, including the original supplier directly performing the harvesting, catching, extraction or equivalent operation, as well as any other information on the product itself. To this end, the Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts identifying the products for which such information should be provided using, amongst others, the database established under this Regulation as well as the information and decisions of the competent authorities encoded in the information and communication system set out in Article 34 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (‘ICSMS’). Moreover, the Commission should be empowered to adopt, the implementing acts necessary to specify the details of the information to be made available to customs by the economic operators. This information should include the description, name or brand of the product, specific requirements under Union legislation for the identification of the product (such as a type, reference, model, batch or serial number affixed on the product, or provided on the packaging or in a document accompanying the product, or unique identifier of the digital product passport) as well as details on the manufacturer or producer and all the product suppliers, including the original supplier where there is more than one actor in the supply chain, including for each of them their name, trade name or registered trademark, their contact details, their unique identification number in the country they are established, the number or other equivalent details of the facility or unit, including vessels, by means of which the harvesting, catching, extraction or other equivalent operation took place and, where available, their Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number, and, in the case of vessels, the flag of the vessel and the identity of the operator. The review of the Union Customs Code will consider introducing in the customs legislation the information required to be made available to customs by the economic operators for the enforcement of this Regulation and more broadly to strengthen the transparency of the supply chain.
Amendment 100 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 45
Recital 45
(45) Since forced labour is a global problem and given the interlinkages of the global value chains, it is necessary to promote international cooperation against forced labour, which would also improve the efficiency of applying and enforcing the prohibition. The Commission should as appropriately cooperate with and exchange information with authorities of third countries and international organisations to enhance the effective implementation of the prohibition. The Commission should seek closer cooperation with third-country authorities with a view to creating an effective network for the effective identification and eradication of violations bearing the hallmarks of forced labour. This should primarily concern third countries for which a high level of forced labour or regular and/or recurrent cases of forced labour have been documented. International cooperation with authorities of non-EU countries should take place in a structured way as part of the existing dialogue structures, for example Human Rights Dialogues with third countries, or, if necessary, specific ones that will be created on an ad hoc basis.
Amendment 109 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. In their assessment of the likelihood that economic operators violated Article 3, competent authorities shall focus on the economic operators involved in the steps of the value chain as close as possible to where the risk of forced labour is likely to occur, the nature and working conditions of the sector concerned, and take into account the size and economic resources of the economic operators, the quantity of products concerned, as well as the scale of suspected forced labour.
Amendment 134 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 13 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The Commission shall seek to ensure effective cooperation with third- country authorities with a view to creating an effective network for the effective control, identification and eradication of violations bearing the hallmarks of forced labour.
Amendment 143 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 1
Article 24 – paragraph 1
1. A Union Network Against Forced Labour Products (‘the Network’) is established. The Network shall serve as a platform for structured coordination and cooperation between the competent authorities of the Member States and the Commission, and to streamline the practices of enforcement of this Regulation within the Union, thereby making enforcement more effective and coherent. The network can also serve to coordinate activities and cooperation with third- country authorities in order to facilitate the identification and elimination of forced labour.
Amendment 147 #
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 appropriate cooperate, engage and exchange information with, amongst others, authorities of third countries, international organisations, civil society representatives and business organisations. The Commission shall seek closer cooperation with third-country authorities with a view to creating an effective network for the effective control, identification and eradication of violations bearing the hallmarks of forced labour. 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.