How to Effectively Ban Products made with Forced Labour – presentation of a model law
Together with my Green colleagues Anna Cavazzini and Heidi Hautala I would hereby like to invite you to join us for our presentation and discussion of a model law for an effective ban of products made with forced labour in the EU. It will take place on Thursday, November 10, from 8 to 9.00 am (CEST) in the Spinelli building of the European Parliament. A webinar link for registered persons who wish to participate virtually will be provided as well and we believe that it will be an informative and fruitful discussion.
Currently there are around 27.6 million people affected by forced labour worldwide, and the numbers are even rising. The products made by them often end up on our supermarket shelves, making European consumers involuntary accomplices. Thus, the pressure to act is great. To end this, several Green MEPs called for a ban on products made with forced labour in the European Parliament which has been widely supported in an EP resolution that a large majority of MEPs supported in the summer. The Greens/EFA supported the drafting of a model law that will be at the centre of this event.
We will discuss with
- Irene Pietropaoli from the British Institute for International and Comparative Law, study author
- Andy Hall, labour rights activist and researcher
- Ben van Peperstraete, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights e.V. (ECCHR)
Furthermore, we will take stock of the current state of the legislative proposal made by the European Commission in September this year and mirror it against our model law. We will discuss what role the EU must play in preventing forced labour by ensuring an effective ban mechanism.
Please contact my office reinhard.buetikofer@europarl.europa.eu to receive the online link.