Labor Dept Requests Info on Child & Forced Labor in Foreign Countries
The Labor Department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) is seeking public comments and relevant information to assist it in updating three reports on child and forced labor in foreign countries: (i) one on the worst forms of child labor, (ii) another on goods believed to be produced by forced and/or child labor; and (iii) products needing Federal contractor certification. Comments are due by March 9, 2012.
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Seeks Comments on Nature & Extent of Child/Forced Labor, Gov’t Efforts, Etc.
ILAB requests comments or information on the nature and extent of child labor, forced labor, and forced or indentured child labor in the production of goods in foreign countries. It also seeks information on government, industry, or third-party actions to address these issues. ILAB may use relevant information to conduct assessments of each country's individual progress towards eliminating worst forms of child labor during the current reporting period compared to previous years.
The information will also be used to assist ILAB in updating the following three reports:
Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. This report is mandated by the Trade and Development Act of 2000 and provides information on the efforts of certain U.S. trade beneficiary countries to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The 2010 report is available here.
List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor. This list, which is mandated by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (TVPRA), lists goods from countries that the ILAB has reason to believe are produced by forced or child labor, in violation of international standards. This list was updated on October 3, 2011 to add incense (agarbatti) from India, the country of Mauritania, and listing cotton for Mali. (See ITT's Online Archives 11100508 for summary.)
List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor. ILAB issues this list pursuant to Executive Order 13126. The list contains a list of products requiring federal contractor certification as they might have been mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. The Labor Department published an initial determination on October 4, 2011 proposing to add certain bricks from Afghanistan and cassiterite and coltan from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the list. (See ITT's Online Archives 11100413 for summary.)
(The ILAB's report on the worst forms of child labor is published annually. However, ILAB's list of goods produced by child or forced labor is updated periodically as additional countries and territories are researched and new information is evaluated. The list of products requiring federal contract certification is updated through consideration of submissions by individuals or the Labor Department's Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking's (OCFT) own initiative. See ITT's Online Archives 11042729 for summary of the ILAB seeking comments to update these three reports in April 2011.)
ILAB Contact -- Tina McCarter (202) 693-4843, mccarter.tina@dol.gov
(FR Pub 02/16/12)