List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor
The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) maintains a list of goods and their source countries which it has reason to believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards, as required under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2005 and subsequent reauthorizations. The List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor comprises 159 goods from 78 countries and areas, as of September 28, 2022.
ILAB maintains the List primarily to raise public awareness about forced labor and child labor around the world and to promote efforts to combat them; it is not intended to be punitive, but rather to serve as a catalyst for more strategic and focused coordination and collaboration among those working to address these problems.
Publication of the List has resulted in new opportunities for ILAB to engage with foreign governments to combat forced labor and child labor. It is also a valuable resource for researchers, advocacy organizations and companies wishing to carry out risk assessments and engage in due diligence on labor rights in their supply chains.
The countries on the List span every region of the world. The most common agricultural goods listed are sugarcane, cotton, coffee, tobacco, cattle, rice, and fish. In the manufacturing sector, bricks, garments, textiles, footwear, carpets, and fireworks appear most frequently. In mined or quarried goods, gold, coal and diamonds are most common.
ILAB published the initial TVPRA List in 2009 and updated it annually through 2014, following a set of procedural guidelines that were the product of an intensive public consultation process. ILAB now updates and publishes the List every other year, pursuant to changes in the law.
Procedural Guidelines
On January 25, 2024, ILAB's Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking published Procedural Guidelines for the development and maintenance of the List of Goods from countries produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards.
Country/Area | Good | Exploitation Type |
---|---|---|
Korea, North | Forced Labor | |
Burma | Child Labor, Forced Labor | |
Bangladesh | Child Labor | |
Ethiopia | There are reports that children ages 8 to 17 produce khat in Ethiopia. According to a study from 2017, between 50 percent and 70 percent of khat workers in Wondo Genet’s Chuko town and Aweday, in Eastern Hararge, are children. Sources estimate that 5,000 children in Aweday are connected to the industry, approximately 2,000 of whom are under age 15. Although khat (Catha edulis) is legal in Ethiopia, the plant releases two highly addictive central nervous system stimulants – cathinone and cathine – whose acute and long-term neurological effects include khat-induced psychosis. Children involved in khat cultivation, pruning, and bundling may become addicted to the drug due to contact with excretions from the plant. Moreover, child laborers are unable to attend school and they work long nights. |
Child Labor |
Kenya | Child Labor | |
Bangladesh | Child Labor | |
Pakistan | Child Labor | |
Vietnam | There are reports that children ages 5 to 17 in Vietnam produce leather. The results of the Government of Vietnam’s National Child Labor Survey 2012, published in 2014, show that an estimated 1,426 child laborers work in the leather industry, primarily in the tanning and pre-processing stages and in dyeing animal skins. Approximately 74 percent of children involved in child labor in leather production are girls. Out of the estimated 1,426 child laborers who produce leather, about 580 are 12-14 years old and 846 are 15-17 years old. The survey considers a child to be engaged in child labor if the child is working an excessive number of hours per week for his or her age, or if the child is engaged in work that is prohibited for underage employees according to national legislation. |
Child Labor |
India | Child Labor | |
Mexico | There is evidence that children between the ages of 5 and 14 work in the production of leather goods in Mexico. Based on an analysis of Mexico’s National Survey of Occupation and Employment – Child Labor Module 2017, an estimated 5,594 children work in leather goods manufacturing. The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of Mexico’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgment that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs. |
Child Labor |
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