U.S. Labor Department issues reports on international child labor and forced labor

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) today released three reports on child labor and/or forced labor in countries around the globe. The documents include the initial "List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor" required by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (TVPRA List).

"It is my strong hope that consumers, firms, governments, labor unions and other stakeholders will use this information to translate their economic power into a force for good that ultimately will eliminate abusive child labor and forced labor," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

The TVPRA List informs the public about 122 goods from 58 countries that ILAB has reason to believe are produced by forced labor, child labor or both in violation of international standards. ILAB also has released a proposed update to the "List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor" (EO List) pursuant to Executive Order 13126 of 1999. The list includes 29 products from 21 countries and will be available for public comment beginning Sept. 11. In addition, ILAB has published its 8th annual "Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor" as mandated by the Trade and Development Act of 2000 on the efforts of 141 countries and territories to combat exploitive child labor.

The countries with products included on the TVPRA List span every region of the world. The most common items listed include cotton, sugar cane, tobacco, coffee, rice and cocoa in agriculture; bricks, garments, carpets and footwear in manufacturing; and gold and coal in mined and quarried goods.

The primary purpose of the TVPRA List is to raise public awareness about the incidence of child labor and forced labor in the production of goods in the countries listed and to promote efforts to eliminate such practices. Today's release is an initial list that will be updated periodically.

The bureau's Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking (OCFT) prepared the three reports and collected data from U.S. embassies, foreign governments, international and nongovernmental organizations, technical assistance and field research projects, academic research and the media.

OCFT has funded more than $720 million in programs to help officials in more than 80 countries combat the worst forms of child labor. ILAB conducts research on and formulates international economic, trade and labor policies in collaboration with other U.S. government agencies, and provides international technical assistance in support of U.S. foreign-labor policy objectives.

Copies of the reports are available at http://www.dol.gov/ilab. For a printed version, contact the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. N.W., Room S-5317, Washington, D.C. 20210; telephone 202-693-4843; fax 202-693-4830; e-mail GlobalKids@dol.gov.