Slavery resources

As part of the expanding global landscape of business and human rights legislation, several countries have either implemented or are in the process of introducing import and product bans to prevent the market flow of goods made with forced labour.

While these legislative efforts are increasing, differing approaches are emerging as to whether and which forms of child labour should fall into the scope of product and import bans. There are important nuances that must be considered in developing tools to tackle child labour.

Increasingly, countries have, or are legislating, instruments to ban the import of products made by forced labour. These include the US, Canada and Mexico. The EU Forced Labour Regulation, which bans the sale, import and export of goods made using forced labour, is the most recent piece of such statute. Given that the EU single market is currently the world’s largest consumer market, the Regulation has the potential to influence business practices globally, to prevent, end or mitigate forced labour, and to stop companies profiting from forced labour in their supply chains. The Regulation could also drive progress in legislative efforts related to forced labour in other countries, whose companies may be impacted by robust enforcement of the Regulation. Importantly, the Regulation will address a significant gap in the EU legislative framework, as there has previously been no instrument in the EU that prohibits the market flow of products made with forced labour.

The Regulation provides that the Union seeks to eradicate the use of forced labour and promote decent work and labour rights worldwide. Article 11(f) states the European Commission shall make available guidance for economic operators on due diligence in relation to forced labour imposed by state authorities. The purpose of this briefing is to inform the due diligence guidance that the Commission will publish in relation to state-imposed forced labour. It provides what due diligence efforts are expected of companies to identify risks of state-imposed forced labour in operations and supply chains, when disengagement is necessary, and what steps should be taken to swiftly disengage. The draft due diligence provided herein aligns with international guidelines and established principles by international organisations including the ILO, the OECD and the United Nations. 

The briefing also provides a comprehensive explanation of how state-imposed forced labour is distinct from forced labour carried out by private actors. In the former, it is the State –  which has obligations under core human rights treaties and ILO Conventions to protect its population, including from forced labour – that is the perpetrator. This type of forced labour, therefore, requires a different response by companies as the  abuse is carried out in pursuit of government policy and is maintained by the state apparatus itself. This briefing also includes examples of how state-imposed forced labour is currently carried out in various geographic locations and across sectors.

National competent authorities under the EU Forced Labour Product Ban Regulation will have two core duties:

1. Investigating products made with forced labour within EU Member States,
2. Deciding on and enforcing product bans, with complementary obligations of cooperation with the European Commission and other EU Member States.

This note offers recommendations to designate such authorities based on criteria of effectiveness and efficiency.

The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Anti-Slavery International publish Understanding the EU Forced Labour Regulation: Assessment and Recommendations.  

This essential analysis explains the provisions of the final text and outlines what needs to be done for implementation. It aims to help civil society organisations and allies active in the sector to advocate for the effective implementation of the Regulation and support enforcement of the ban of forced labour goods. 

Targeted action is needed to eliminate forced labour, protect the most vulnerable groups and effectively address the root causes of forced labour. The EU Forced Labour Regulation, which entered into force on 13 December 2024, is part of a global shift towards targeted action to eliminate forced labour in global supply chains.  

The European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ), in collaboration with the Clean Clothes Campaign, European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights, Frank Bold, Oxfam, CIDSE, FIDH, Anti-Slavery International, and Friends of the Earth Europe, publishes the Transposition Guide for the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). This essential guide provides key insights and recommendations for the upcoming transposition phase of this EU directive.

The Transposition Guide was developed by a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) with the goal of supporting fellow CSOs in advocating for ambitious and effective transposition of the CSDDD across European Union Member States. The CSDDD represents a major advancement in promoting responsible business conduct within and beyond the EU, holding companies accountable for human rights and environmental harm resulting from their activities.

Following its adoption and publication in the EU’s Official Journal in June 2024, EU Member States are now in the process of integrating the Directive into national law over the next two years.

This guide outlines key priorities to address in the transposition process, including:

• Effective access to justice, including reversing the burden of proof in civil claims and ensuring practical time limitations.
• Effective and meaningful stakeholders engagement, which are the core of the chain of activities. This engagement should be done early and should be continuous.
• Broader personal scope, while removing conditions on the material scope defining human rights and aligning the environmental scope on international norms.
• Extending due diligence obligations to all relevant parts of the value chain, including the downstream activities of financial services.

This guide is a key resource for CSOs working towards an effective application of the CSDDD. 

On 25 July 2024, the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive officially came into force. The Directive requires large companies operating in the EU to conduct human rights and environmental due diligence in their value chains. 

This analysis is designed to inform civil society organisations and allies, helping them advocate for effective implementation and support workers in exercising their rights.  

Read about the Directive’s provisions, what we advocated for, the gaps that still exist, and our ongoing advocacy to ensure strong implementation and corporate accountability. 

To fulfil its commitment to eliminate forced labour from global value chains, the UK must introduce
import controls on products tainted with forced labour. Anti-Slavery International calls on the UK
Government to introduce primary legislation to ban the import of goods tainted with forced
labour. The ban should cover products made (in whole or in part) or transported using forced
labour. This briefing document outlines the rationale behind this call, as well as the elements that the
proposed law must include.

Anti-Slavery International is campaigning alongside the Corporate Justice Coalition and other organisations to make the case for a new Business Human Rights and Environment Act (BHRE).

We have published a policy paper with an overview of the rationale behind our legislative call. We outline the UK’s current lack of mechanisms to hold companies accountable for a failure to prevent abuses, the need to level the playing field between businesses, as well as the urgency for guaranteeing access to justice for victims of corporate abuses. We also provide a series of recommendations to ensure the UK plays its part in addressing forced labour in value chains. This includes both the principal elements of the BHRE Act and a wider mix of additional measures.

Note this policy paper was updated in July 2024.

Anti-Slavery International

In written evidence to the UK’s Environmental Audit Committee, we urge the Committee to recognise and assess the risk of the use of forced labour of Uyghurs and other Turkic and Muslim-majority peoples in the solar industry and energy storage technology industries, and to develop recommendations which map out a pathway for how the UK Government can support the UK solar industry to develop a truly ‘clean’ industry, which does not rely on the systemic forced labour of persecuted communities.

As the world’s largest single market, the EU has an enormous opportunity to set global leadership in its of design laws and approaches to address systemic forced labour in corporate supply chains. This EU toolbox of legislation and policy must include legislation which controls the trade and retail of products made with forced labour on the EU market. Alongside other measures, including mandatory due diligence legislation, a forced labour ban will act as a powerful government enforcement tool which incentivises companies to meaningfully address forced labour in their supply chains.

Anti-Slavery International, ECCHR and The Greens/EFA Group therefore welcome the European Commission’s “Proposal for a Regulation on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market” (‘Regulation’), published on 14 September 2022. Yet to be effective, significant improvements must be made to the European Commission’s proposal.

To help shape the design of the Regulation, this document sets out a model law with the key elements which must be included in the European Commission’s proposal, in order to create a worker-centred Regulation. As the debate in the European Union continues, we urge all decision makers to consult with organisations representing workers around the world, to ensure that the Regulation is designed with their needs and interests at its core.