Addressing state Imposed Forced Labour: the EU's Forced Labour Regulation

State-imposed forced labour is pervasive in EU supply chains and requires unique policy solutions. In Turkmenistan and in the Uyghur Region, governments use systematic forced labour to produce cotton and cotton products. Other products, including solar panels and automobiles, are also produced with inputs made with state-sponsored forced labour in the Uyghur Region. Through direct trade routes or through suppliers in third countries, these products enter the EU.

Anti-Slavery International, the Cotton Campaign, and the Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region are co-hosting an interactive multi-stakeholder panel discussion addressing how the EU can prevent goods tainted by state-imposed forced labour from entering markets. In particular, this conversation will explore how the Forced Labour Regulation and other EU mechanisms, such as the upcoming EU-Turkmenistan Human Rights Dialogue, are critical to ensuring the EU can adequately address risks of supply chains linked to state-imposed forced labour. Highlighting Turkmenistan and the Uyghur Region, two egregious examples of state-imposed forced labour, speakers will provide insights on the experiences of impacted communities and on specific recommendations to strengthen the effectiveness of the Regulation and the need for diplomatic pressure. This panel will inform legislative discussions ahead of EU negotiations. The event is specifically designed to bring together policymakers and civil society from diverse backgrounds, for constructive and solution-oriented discussions.

Register here.

Agenda:

• 14h05–14h15. Opening remarks. MEP TBC
• 14h15-14h45. State imposed forced labour: The cases of Turkmenistan and the Uyghur Region. Speakers: Ruslan Myatiev (Turkmen.News), Farid Tukhbatullin (Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights), Babur Ilchi (Uyghur Human Rights Project), and Arslan Hidayat (Campaign for Uyghurs)
• 14h55-15h40. Panel discussion (and Q&A) on how to address State-Imposed Forced Labour. Speakers: Raluca Dumitrescu (Cotton Campaign), Patricia Carrier, (Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region), Charlotte Tate (Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region), Jewher Ilham (Workers Rights Consortium), Ruslan Myatiev, Farid Tukhbatullin
• 15h40-15h50. Strengthening the Forced Labour Regulation. Speaker: Helene de Rengerve (Anti-Slavery International)
• 15h50-16h00. Closing remarks. MEP Maria-Manuel Leitao Marques (S&D)

Organisers:

The Cotton Campaign is a global coalition of NGOs, unions, brand associations, responsible investors, and academics all united to eradicate forced labor and promote decent in the cotton sectors of Central Asia.

The Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region is a coalition of civil society organisations and trade unions united to end state-sponsored forced labour and other egregious human rights abuses against people from the Uyghur Region in China, known to local people as East Turkistan.

Founded in 1839, Anti-Slavery International the oldest international human rights organisation in the world. We draw on our experience to work to eliminate all forms of slavery and slavery like practices throughout the world.