List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor

There are reports that children, as young as age 8, are engaged in the harvesting of açaí berries in Brazil. Evidence of child labor has been found in the city of Abaetuba, a major center for açaí berry production, in the State of Pará. Children are involved in the harvesting season from August until January each year, alongside their families. Most families in the region rely on the harvest as their main source of income. Reports and field research indicate that children are seen as extremely valuable to the harvest due to their physical stature and natural agility, qualities that allow them to climb the açaí berry trees’ tall and thin trunks more easily without the trees breaking. Açaí berry picking is considered to be a highly dangerous job in Brazil, requiring those involved in its harvest to climb great heights, sometimes up to 65 feet. Children engaged in açaí berry harvesting not only are required to scale very tall trees, but they also lack proper protective equipment, transport large knives with serrated blades in the back of their shorts, and are exposed to hot climate conditions and environments that include venomous insects and other dangerous animals.

Portuguese Translation

There are reports that adults in China are forced to produce aluminum used in manufactured goods. Reports indicate that Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and other Muslim minorities from the XUAR are frequently subjected to forced labor in China through state-sponsored labor transfer programs. The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) is a government paramilitary organization in Xinjiang that runs labor transfer programs and owns aluminum companies. There is evidence that both XPCC and non-XPCC aluminum producers in Xinjiang have received hundreds of members of persecuted groups through labor transfer programs. Academic researchers, media, and think tanks report that companies and government entities frequently engage in coercive recruitment, limit workers’ freedom of movement and communication, and subjected workers to constant surveillance, exclusion from community and social life, physical violence, and threats to family members.

Chinese Translation

There are reports that children as young as 7 engage in illegal amber extraction in Ukraine. Children from low-income families in the Polesia region of western Ukraine, including in Rivne, Volyn, and Zhytomyr Oblasts, are particularly vulnerable to involvement in amber extraction. For example, one human rights organization reports that thousands of school children extract amber, and that their labor is essential to the amber industry. According to media reports and local government officials, child labor is systemic in the illegal amber extraction industry and is a growing problem. The amber extraction process creates large pits and exposes children to risk of injuries when extraction pits collapse. Children engaged in illegal amber extraction are also at risk of violence at the mining site. 

Ukranian Translation

ILAB has reason to believe that fishmeal, fish oil, and animal feed produced in Thailand are produced with an input produced with forced labor, specifically fish produced in Thailand. Fish from Thailand produced with forced labor was added to ILAB’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor in 2012. Tens of thousands of migrant workers from Burma, Cambodia, and Laos are exploited in forced labor on marine fishing vessels in Thailand. These migrant workers are paid little or irregularly, work up to 20 hours per day, live without adequate food, water, medical supplies, experience physical abuse, and often have their identity documents retained by boat owners. Thailand-caught marine fish produced using forced labor is sorted and often mixed with imported marine fish that may or may not be caught using forced labor, tainting the Thai fish product supply chain. The catch is sold to fishmeal processors, where the fish is cleaned and squeezed or dried to produce fishmeal and fish oil. Fishmeal is primarily used to make animal feed for shrimp and poultry, and 25% of Thailand’s marine fish capture is used to manufacture fishmeal for animal feed. Reports indicate that the majority of animal feed produced in Thailand is consumed domestically by shrimp and poultry farms, though Thailand exported $2.4 billion of animal feed in 2022 to the United States, Malaysia, Japan, Italy, and Australia. Research suggests that further downstream products of fish, such as cosmetics, supplements, pet food, shrimp, and poultry may be produced with an input produced with forced labor.

Aluminum from China produced with forced labor was added to ILAB’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor in 2024. There are reports that adults in China are forced to produce aluminum used in manufactured goods. Reports indicate that Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and other Muslim minorities from the XUAR are frequently subjected to forced labor in China through state-sponsored labor transfer programs. The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) is a government paramilitary organization in Xinjiang that runs labor transfer programs and owns aluminum companies. There is evidence that both XPCC and non-XPCC aluminum producers in Xinjiang have received hundreds of members of persecuted groups through labor transfer programs. Labor transfers of this kind are undertaken involuntarily in the broader context of constant surveillance and under menace of penalty, including explicit and implicit threats of detention and internment and threats to family members. Sources indicate that approximately 17- 20% of China’s aluminum is manufactured in Xinjiang under these labor conditions. Aluminum from Xinjiang is used to produce aluminum-intensive auto parts in China, including parts of auto bodies, and auto-part components, including engine block alloy, aluminum sheet and aluminum coil, and aluminum wheel and chassis components. In 2022, China was the world’s largest aluminum manufacturer and the second-largest autoparts supplier to the U.S.

Chinese Translation

ILAB has reason to believe that raw sugar, refined sugar, molasses, rum, bagasse, and furfural produced in the Dominican Republic (DR) are produced with an input produced with forced labor, specifically sugarcane produced in the DR. Sugarcane from the DR produced with forced labor was added to ILAB’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor in 2009. Numerous reports indicate the widespread presence of forced labor throughout the sugarcane sector of the DR, including in plantations owned by private companies, state-owned entities, and small independent producers (colonos). Sugarcane workers in the DR, particularly workers of Haitian origin or descent, work and live under conditions of forced labor. Sugarcane is used to produce a number of sugar-based products in the DR. The U.S. imports nearly all the raw sugar and the majority of the molasses exported from the DR, while the EU imports all of the produced furfural. In 2023, the U.S. imported over $131 million in raw sugar from the DR. Research suggests that further downstream products of sugarcane, such as beverages, alcoholic beverages, candy, baked goods, processed food products, animal feed, paper, pulp, construction materials, biofuels, industrial chemicals, medicines, and medicinal alcohol may be produced with an input produced with forced labor.

Spanish Translation

There is evidence that children ages 5 to 17 are engaged in the production of baked goods in El Salvador. According to the Government of El Salvador’s Multi-Purpose Household Survey of 2015, a working child is considered to be engaged in hazardous child labor if the child is performing work that is hazardous according to national legislation. The survey estimates that 123,259 children ages 5 to 17 perform hazardous child labor in El Salvador, including using dangerous tools, carrying heavy loads, working with chemicals, working long or night shifts, and being exposed to dust, smoke, or extreme heat or humidity. Approximately 9,737 of these children in hazardous child labor are engaged in the production of baked goods. The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of El Salvador’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgement that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs. 

Spanish Translation

There is evidence that children under the age of 14 produce baked goods in Pakistan. An analysis of the Pakistan Labour Force Survey 2017–2018 considers all work performed by children under age 14 to be child labor. Based on an analysis of the survey, it is estimated that 15,404 child laborers produce baked goods. Children who work in producing baked goods may be at risk of exposure to hazards including working long hours, carrying heavy loads, and exposure to extreme temperatures and toxic fumes. The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of Pakistan’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgment that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs.

Urdu Translation

There are reports that children as young as age 10 are forced to work in the production of bamboo in Burma. According to the ILO and NGOs, forced child labor is pervasive, particularly in Karen, Shan, and Arakan States near military camps, with children constituting up to 40 percent of forced laborers being used for a variety of activities, including the production of bamboo. Some of these children are sent by their families to fulfill a mandate imposed by the military that requires each household in a village to undertake specified forced labor activities. Villagers, including children, are forced by local officials and the military to work cutting bamboo for the military camps. The forced child laborers are not paid for their work, and face physical violence or other punishment if they refuse to work. 

Burmese Translation

There is evidence that children ages 5 to 13 cultivate bananas in Brazil. The Government of Brazil’s 2015 National Household Survey considers all work performed by children below age 14 to be child labor. Based on an analysis of the survey, an estimated 2,936 child laborers cultivate bananas. The ILO has found that generally children who work in agriculture may be at risk of exposure to hazards including, working long hours, carrying heavy loads, using dangerous tools, and exposure to the elements, physical injuries, and chemicals, such as pesticides. The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of Brazil’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgement that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs. 

Portuguese Translation

There is evidence that children ages 5 to 17 grow beans in Paraguay. In 2016, the Government of Paraguay published representative results from the Survey of Activities of Rural Area Children and Adolescents 2015. The survey considers a working child to be engaged in child labor if the child is below the minimum age for employment of 14 or is performing work that is hazardous according to national legislation. The survey estimates that 301,827 children ages 5 to 17 perform hazardous work in rural areas of Paraguay and indicates that children working in agriculture experience accidents and illnesses, including from using dangerous tools and handling chemicals. According to the survey, almost 13 percent of Paraguayan children engaged in child labor in agriculture do not attend school. The survey estimates that 71,839 child laborers grow poroto beans throughout rural areas in Paraguay. Approximately 31,372 of child laborers growing poroto beans are below the minimum age for employment in Paraguay. The survey indicates that child labor also occurs in the cultivation of other varieties of beans, including habilla, poroto manteca, and feijao, and that more boys than girls are engaged in child labor producing beans. The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of Paraguay’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgement that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs.

Spanish Translation

There are reports that children ages 15-17 work under conditions of forced labor in the production of beans in Burma. An NGO study documents children, as well as adults, forced by the military to work on rotation year round, planting and harvesting beans for the military camp. Local officials and the military enforce these work orders; the children cannot refuse to work, even if sick. 

Burmese Translation

ILAB has reason to believe that multiple palm oil products produced in Malaysia are produced with an input derived from child labor and forced labor, specifically palm fruit produced in Malaysia. These palm oil products include crude palm oil, crude palm kernel oil, refined palm oil, refined palm kernel oil, cooking oil (palm oil blends), oleochemicals, and biofuel. Palm fruit from Malaysia was added to ILAB’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor in 2009 for forced labor and added in 2014 for child labor. Research from NGOs and media reports continue to show tens of thousands of children work in the palm fruit sector in Malaysia. Similar reporting shows forced labor indicators are widespread in palm fruit plantations, particularly among migrant workers who face vulnerabilities during and after recruitment. This research suggests that further worldwide downstream products of palm fruit and palm oil, such as animal feed, baked goods, beverages, household and industrial products, personal care products, cosmetic products, infant formula, and shortening, may be produced with an input produced with child labor and forced labor.

There is evidence that children between the ages of 5 and 14 engage in the production of bovines in Cambodia.  In Cambodia, bovines are primarily used for domestic consumption and for farming purposes, and are raised by approximately 1.4 million smallholders primarily located in provinces bordering the Mekong River, with a heavy concentration found in the southern rice-producing provinces.  Based on analysis of the 2016 Cambodian Socio-Economic Survey, an estimated 59,693 children are involved in child labor in the production of bovines.  The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of Cambodia’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgment that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs.

Khmer Translation

There are reports that children ages 5 to 17 work in bovine raising in Ecuador. Based on the analysis of Ecuador’s 2019 National Survey of Employment, Unemployment, and Underemployment, an estimated 10,564 children under the minimum age for work are involved in child labor in bovine raising. The ILO has found that generally, children who care for farm animals may be at risk of exposure to potential health consequences, including injuries from kicks and infections from animal bites and exposure to harmful bacteria. The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of Ecuador’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgement that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs.

Spanish Translation

There is evidence that children ages 8 to 17 raise bovines in Eswatini. Child labor in this sector is concentrated in the rural areas of Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, and Shiselweni. In 2018, the Government of Eswatini and the International Labor Organization published results from the 2014 Survey on Child Labor in Herding in Rural Areas in Eswatini. According to international standards on the minimum age for work, children working below the age of 15 are engaged in child labor. The survey estimates that 72,332 children below the age of 15 raise bovines. Children perform physically arduous tasks while herding in the grasslands and mountainous regions, and risk occupational injury and disease from exposure to dangerous tools, insecticides and herbicides. Children’s injuries include fractures, dislocations and sprains, burns, frostbite, breathing problems, skin problems, extreme fatigue, and snake bites. The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of Eswatini’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgement that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs.

There is evidence that children ages 5 to 14 are involved in the raising of bovines in Ghana. Based on an analysis of the Ghana Living Standards Survey, an estimated 10,049 child laborers are involved in the raising of bovines. The ILO has found, depending on the conditions, that herding, shepherding, and handling livestock may be considered as hazardous work. Injuries from animals include being bitten, butted, jostled, stamped on, gored, or trampled. Large and small animals do not need to be aggressive to cause serious harm or even kill a child. Children rarely wear protective shoes or boots, and this increases their risk for additional injuries and illnesses such as cuts, wounds, bruises, thorn injuries, skin disorders, and infections. Diseases can be contracted through routine contact with animals, insects, pathogens in animal carcasses, and work near livestock stabling areas and butchering houses. The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of Ghana’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgement that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs.

There is evidence that children under the age of 14 raise bovines in Pakistan. An analysis of the Pakistan Labour Force Survey 2017–2018 considers all work performed by children under age 14 to be child labor. Based on an analysis of the survey, it is estimated that 31,516 child laborers raise bovines. The ILO has found that generally, children who work in livestock cultivation may be at risk of exposure to hazards including working long hours, being injured by the animals, and exposure to the elements, diseases, and chemicals such as disinfectants. The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of Pakistan’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgment that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs.

Urdu Translation

There are reports that children are forced to harvest Brazil nuts in Bolivia. Forced child labor in the production of Brazil nuts is known to be found in the Amazon region in particular, and migrant workers are particularly vulnerable. According to international organizations, NGOs, and the U.S. Department of State, many children are forced to work, often with their families, under conditions of bonded labor. Often entire families, including children, are given an advance payment to work in the harvest, and then incur more debt during the harvest. The families are prohibited from leaving, even once the harvest is complete, until their debts are paid off. Sometimes identity papers and wages are withheld as a means to restrict freedom of movement. 

Spanish Translation

There are reports that children are forced by the military to work in the production of bricks in Burma. According to NGOs, forced child labor in brick production is pervasive, particularly in Northern Rakhine State and near military camps. In some cases, children are recruited into the military and forced to live in barracks and work for years in brick production; in other cases, children are sent by their families on rotation to fulfill the military's forced labor mandate for their household. The children are not paid for their work, and they face physical abuse and other punishments for refusing to work or for producing work that is considered of unacceptable quality. 

Burmese Translation

There are reports that children are forced to produce bricks in Cambodia. According to international researchers and NGOs, numerous incidents of forced child labor have been reported in Cambodia. Reports estimate over 9.3 percent of brick workers are children. However, with upwards of tens of thousands of workers employed at brick kilns and the casual nature of work in brick kilns, this number is likely higher. A cycle of multi-generational debt bondage is created when adults are unable to pay back the high interest charged on loans offered by brick kiln owners and are forced to pass along outstanding debts to their children. Children either inherit or are born into debt bondage and are threatened with arrest or are forced to pay additional debt if they try to leave the brick kiln without repaying their debts in full.

Khmer Translation

There are reports that children, ages 8-17, are forced to produce bricks in China, with concentrations in the Shanxi and Henan provinces. Victims are from provinces across China; some children are abducted or trafficked through coercion and sold to work in brick kilns. Information from media sources and a research study indicate that the children are forced to work without pay under threat of physical violence, held against their will, watched by guards, and denied sufficient food. 

Chinese Translation

There are reports of children working under conditions of forced labor to produce bricks in India's kilns. The most recently available information from a trade union report indicates that in the State of Haryana alone, as many as 40,000 children, many of them forced laborers, are working in brick kilns. Bonded labor in the brick industry is found across India, including in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. The kilns use a system of bonded labor in which children often work alongside other members of their debt-bonded families. Some of these children are forced to work as a guarantee for loans to their parents. Families take an advance payment from recruiters and then are forced to work to pay off the debt; the debt rolls over from one year to the next, binding the worker in a cycle of debt bondage. Children in scheduled castes, a socially disadvantaged class in India, and of migrant families, are particularly vulnerable to forced labor. Some children are forced to work under threat of physical violence. Some children and their families are not paid regularly, do not receive the promised wages, and are prohibited from leaving the worksite. 

Hindi translation

There are reports that children ages 7 to 17 produce bricks in Iran. Media reports indicate that most brick kiln workers are Afghan migrants whose children work alongside them in the summer months. There are reports of child labor in the production of bricks in various parts of the country, including Tehran, Shahr-e Rey, and Gorgan. For example, available data indicates that there are 25,000 workers in brick kilns in Tehran Province, and news articles report that in one town in Tehran Province, the majority of the brick kiln workforce consists of school-aged children who do not attend school. According to Iranian news outlets, children in the brick kilns work more than 8 hours a day and are exposed to injuries, dust, and extreme heat. 

Persian translation

There are reports that children ages 6-17 and some younger than age 5 are working under conditions of forced labor to produce bricks in Nepal. According to available information from an NGO report, two-thirds of the children are male. Brick kilns are concentrated in the Kathmandu Valley and Terai, and operate seasonally between October and June. According to the most recently available NGO data, between 30,000 and 60,000 children work in Nepal's brick kilns, of which up to 39 percent are working as bonded labor. Migrant families, members of certain castes – a socially disadvantaged class in Nepal – and ethnic minorities, such as Dalit, Janajati, and Madeshi, are particularly vulnerable to bonded labor in brick kilns. Most of the children are from Nepal, however some are from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, India. Many families take advance loans from brick kiln employers or brokers with a commitment to produce a specified quantity of bricks, and become bonded laborers. Their children are bound by their parents' debt and work alongside their families making bricks. The bonded families live at the kiln worksites, without access to safe water or sanitation facilities, and are prohibited from leaving until the debts are paid in full. Some bonded children are forced to work 12 hours a day, and receive little, if any, payment after wage deductions to repay the family debt. Some children are penalized by their employers with verbal or physical abuse.

Nepali translation

There are reports that children in Pakistan work under conditions of forced labor producing bricks. According to the most recently available data from the media, the ILO, and a university study, there are hundreds of thousands of these children across Pakistan. The brick industry uses a system of bonded labor under which children, from a very young age, often work alongside their debt-bonded families. Because the debts are sometimes inherited, many children are born into the bonded labor. Under the Pakistani “peshgis” bondage system, families are not free to leave the kiln, and are forced to produce quotas of 1,000 or more bricks per day under threat of physical violence or death. Brick workers, including children, are forced to work without masks, goggles, gloves, shoes, or other safety equipment.

There are reports that adults are forced to produce bricks in Russia. Both men and women are exploited for forced labor in informal brick factories in the Northern Caucasus region of Dagestan; however, victims are primarily male job-seekers recruited in Moscow. According to a local NGO and media reports, hundreds of individuals have been subjected to forced labor in brick factories. Recruiters in Moscow frequently drug and abduct victims who are then sold to brick factory owners in Dagestan. Other victims are recruited through deception regarding the location of work and the anticipated wages. Victims and a local NGO report that factories frequently withhold all wages, sometimes confiscate workers’ passports and cellphones, and sometimes use physical violence, especially when workers try to leave. 

Russian Translation