Labor Dept Requests Info on Child and Forced Labor in Foreign Countries

Comments and information are due April 9, 2010.

Information Needed to Update Two Child and Forced Labor Product Lists

ILAB seeks information on the nature and extent of child labor¹, forced labor², and forced or indentured child labor³ in the production of goods in foreign countries, as well as information on government, industry, or third-party actions and initiatives to address these problems.

Information tending to establish the presence or absence of a significant incidence of these problems in the production of a particular good in a country will be considered the most relevant and probative.

The information will be used as appropriate to maintain: (1) the list of goods that ILAB has reason to believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (the "TVPRA" list⁴) and (2) the List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor under Executive Order 13126 of 1999 (the "EO 13126" list⁵).

Information Also Sought on Worst Forms of Child Labor for 9th Country Report

ILAB also seeks information on exploitive child labor, which it will use to produce the ninth annual report on certain trade beneficiary countries' implementation of international commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.⁶

(The Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA) requires ILAB to report annually on the implementation of international commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor by countries seeking benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), Caribbean Basin Trade and Partnership Act (CBTPA), the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and the Andean Trade Preference Act as amended and expanded by the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPA/ATPDEA).)

To help in its preparation of this report, ILAB seeks information on the nature and extent of the worst forms of child labor in the affected countries listed in its notice. The reporting period for which information is requested is calendar year 2009. Children's involvement in the worst forms of child labor may be related to the production of goods, but may also occur in sectors not related to the production of goods, such as trafficking, armed conflict, or prostitution, as well as hazardous work in activities such as domestic service, street vending, or begging.

ILAB also seeks information on new laws or regulations enacted in regard to the worst forms of child labor over the past year, and to what extent, if any, these changes constitute improvements in the legal and regulatory framework. It also seeks information on the institutional mechanisms for effective enforcement of laws relating to the worst forms of child labor.

¹"Child labor" under international standards means all work performed by a person below the age of 15 as well as work performed by a person below the age of 18 when involving the "worst forms of child labor", including practices such as slavery, illicit activities, prostitution, etc. (See notice for complete definition.)

²"Forced labor" under international standards means all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker does not offer himself voluntarily, including indentured labor. (See notice for complete definition.)

³Forced or indentured child labor means all work or service (1) exacted from any person under the age of 18 under the menace of any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker does not offer himself voluntarily; or (2) performed by any person under the age of 18 pursuant to a contract the enforcement of which is accomplished by process or penalties.

⁴In September 2009, ILAB released its initial "TVPRA list" of 122 goods from 58 countries. ILAB states that this list will be updated periodically, as additional countries and territories are researched and new information is monitored. (See ITT's Online Archives or 09/18/09 news, 09091815, for BP summary of the initial list.)

⁵In September 2009, ILAB released an initial list announcing proposed updates to its original 2001 "EO 13126" list. (See ITT's Online Archives or 09/11/09 news, 09091110, for BP summary.)

⁶The term, "worst forms of child labor" in the TDA is based on International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 182, which defines a child as all persons under the age of 18, and the worst forms of child labor as follows:

work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children (which the TDA Conference Report states is defined to include work with dangerous machinery, heavy loads, in an unhealthy environment, for long hours, etc.)

all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom, or forced or compulsory labor, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;

the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances; and

the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in relevant international treaties.

Labor Dept. contact - Tina McCarter (email) mccarter.tina@dol.gov

Labor Dept. notice (FR Pub 02/24/10) available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-3655.pdf