The Clinton Global Initiative took a frank look at human trafficking with a panel that included MTV, the Body Shop and a student who busted a trafficking ring.
CGI, an annual meeting that brings together leaders from around the globe to tackle some of the world's most pressing problems, convened Tuesday to Thursday.
A trafficking panel discussion on Thursday centered around everything from the role of pimps to the legislation that's emerged from both grassroots and organized advocacy.
Change.org recently reported on the child labor in the gold industry of Peru. Peru, since the beginning of colonialism in South America, has been exploited for their vast amounts of precious metals hidden in the mountains of the Andes. After the fall of the Incan empire, the Spanish conquistadors were hungry for more wealth and used native people as slaves to mine silver in order to further enrich their empire.
Today precious metals and slavery continue to have an enduring relationship. The Peruvian Sierra region, the main source of gold in the country, is the focus of Change.org's campaign to stop the exploitation of men, women and children who are forced to work in treacherous, inhumane conditions everyday so that we, Americans, can buy cheap bracelets and earrings from our favorite air-conditioned retail stores.
"Children as young as five have been found working in gold mines, and children under 14 are regularly forced to handle dangerous chemicals and perform backbreaking labor," explains the Change.org campaign. In addition to being exposed to toxic chemicals like cyanide, children often are expected to handle dynamite to extract the gold from the mountains.
Peru is not the only country known for slave labor in their gold industries. 17 other countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America force young children and adults to spend hours upon hours mining for gold that is in turn sold to companies in the United States. According to Change.org, gold was "the most frequently named commodity appearing on the US Department of Labor's List of Good Produced by Child or Forced Labor."
As a result, Earthworks organized a campaign called "No Dirty Gold" which encouraged companies to buy gold from sources that do not use child labor or slavery, or cause significant environmental damage. Change.org says that "70 national and international jewelry retailers have signed onto (the campaign)." However, Target has refused to agree to these terms. Interestingly enough their chief rival (and usually a major laggard in human rights issues), Wal-Mart, has already pledged to source their gold from cruelty-free producers.
After "tens of thousands" of letters from Change.org members, Target has publicly agreed to "consider" joining Earthworks' campaign. As we all know, this is a weak statement and another way to avoid changing their routine to buy products that are slave labor free.
For more information about the "No Dirty Gold" campaign, visit Earthworks: No Dirty Gold.
If we don't act, Target won't either. Each dollar we spend at a corporation like Target is vote in agreement of their practices. The people of Peru deserve better, and we must demand more of our companies and their products.
It is certainly not the first time allegations of slave labor have surfaced in the coca industry, but the documentary film, The Dark Side of Chocolate, takes the conversation to the next level. In The Dark Side of Chocolate, film creators Miki Mistrati and U. Roberto Romano go undercover to the Ivory Coast, to see for themselves what really goes on.
While numerous accusations have been made over the years, so too, have the denials. There is no doubt that laws are in place which prohibit child labor and child trafficking, yet children continue to be victimized. The accused hide behind screwy loop holes in the laws and are sometimes aided by corrupt public officials. The discussion quickly turns into your typical he said, she said, scenario.
While authorities in Africa continued to deny these allegations, Mistrati and Romano’s hidden cameras tell us a different story. Children between the ages of 12-15, some as young as 7, were seen working on these coca plantations. The working conditions on these plantations are deplorable and become unimaginable when you think of a child. No child should ever be subjected to exploitation; period.
If there is one point that I can make in this post, it is that an informed consumer, is a smart consumer (and a better friend to the exploited). It is sometimes hard to make the connection between a 7-year-old-child, working a plantation in Mali, to the chocolate bar we buy in the local food store, but that is the connection you need to make, because this is what is happening.
The Dark Side of Chocolate takes us on a journey to the truth, in their ground breaking documentary on labor trafficking. Watch it and be informed.
I may think twice before I pick up a chocolate bar- will you?
2010 was an exciting year for anti-trafficking work, from the inclusion of the U.S. for the first time in the Trafficking in Persons Report, to the celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the TVPA, to the European Union passing a new directive aimed at addressing trafficking. The year also saw a number of high profile cases and challenges. As we look forward to increased action in 2011, here are some of 2010's milestones: Jennifer: In September, a federal grand jury in Hawaii brought an indictment against the president, three executives, and two labor contractors with Global Horizons "on charges that they imposed forced labor on some 400 Thai farm workers, in what justice officials called the biggest human-trafficking case ever brought by federal authorities," according to the New York Times. The workers were recruited from Thailand, and in 2007 they told reporters for the Seattle Weekly about their situation, which involved exorbitant debts, poor working conditions, little to no pay, threats, and document confiscation as a means to compel them to work. According to the indictment, Global Horizons attempted "to compel the workers’ labor and service through threats to have them arrested, deported or sent back to Thailand, knowing the workers could not pay off their debts if sent home." This case is noteworthy both for the size of the case and number of potential victims, as well as for exposing the ways that workers under the H-2A visa program may be exploited and for the ways that force, fraud, and coercion can operate in labor trafficking situations.
Bia: In late December 2010, The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) called for member states to ratify the Trafficking In Persons Protocol, which supplements the UN Convention against Organized Crime. One of the hugely important elements of this protocol is its focus on the rights of the victims and survivors of human trafficking. As much focus and energy goes into preventing the crime from even taking place, we have to deal with the current realities as well.The reality is that people are trafficked. The reality is also that those who escape exploitation are more often than not treated as if they were the criminals rather than the victims. That is unacceptable and it is up to us - as advocates or diplomats or simply empathetic individuals - to ensure that the correct infrastructure and systems are in place to aid the physical, psychological and emotional recoveries of those who survive being trafficked.
Elise: The United States was included in the tier rankings for the first time since the State Department began releasing the annual Trafficking In Persons Report. Previously, the TIP Report relied exclusively on data provided by the DOJ's report to Congress when adding information about the US's anti-trafficking effort. This year, however, Secretary Clinton stated that, "“We have to ensure that our policies live up to our ideals, and that is why we have for the first time included the United States.” The US gave itself a Tier 1 ranking, the highest out of the four rankings a country may receive. The country report mentions that the standardization of data collection in the US has yet to develop, which is why, still to this day, we do not have an accurate representation of what trafficking looks like in the US. What will also be more helpful to understanding trafficking is data collection that reflects the nuances of cases that involve both sex and labor trafficking. Forty-two states have enacted specific anti-trafficking statutes using varying definitions and a range of penalties. Such statutes are only gradually coming into use; during the reporting period, two states obtained their first convictions under anti-trafficking statutes passed in 2003 and 2007. The report also mentions the disparities between states on public benefits that are available to survivors. While there has been a 210 percent increase in certifications of foreign victims over the past five years, there has been no corresponding increase in funding for services. The report goes into further detail about the complications and burden the funding delivery structure also places on service providers; a problem that most directly affects survivors.The report also made a lengthy list of general recommendations that the US should engage in order to improve its response: improve data collection, increase law enforcement training, increase funding to service providers, improve cooperation among stakeholders, make immigrant and migrant workers more aware of their rights.
Jennifer: In October, the U.S. celebrated the Tenth Anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). The TVPA and its subsequent re-authorizations are the main federal legislation addressing human trafficking in the US. The law aims to be comprehensive and address "prevention, protection, and prosecution," and is responsible for everything from authorizing the T visa for trafficking victims to making human trafficking a federal crime. A DOJ report on states "The Tenth Anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) gives us occasion to reflect upon the remarkable strides our nation has made in combating human trafficking in the decade since the TVPA’s landmark provisions took effect on October 28, 2000. The enactment of the TVPA sparked a decade of progress toward eradicating modern-day slavery, a national endeavor that traces back to the Thirteenth Amendment’s command. . . Over the last ten years, we have recognized more than ever before that the fight to deliver on the promise of freedom can only be won through broad-based, collaborative efforts to address all dimensions of human trafficking. Among all the advances since passage of the TVPA, perhaps the most notable is the evolution of the strong partnerships between federal, state, local, and international law enforcement, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who assist victims of human trafficking and advocate to bring an end to modern-day slavery." The act was most recently re-authorized in 2008, and will be up for re-authorization in 2011, making this an important time for anti-trafficking advocates in the US to not only reflect but to also look forward.
Laura: The human trafficking landscape in the European Union took a step towards abolition on December 14, 2010 with the European Union’s passing of a new anti-human trafficking directive. Member states, excluding Denmark and the UK, will have two years to adopt and implement the new directive, which replaces the current 2002 Framework Decision on combating human trafficking. Tougher penalties for traffickers include a minimum five year sentence, rising to ten years if child exploitation, threat to life, and/or organized crime are involved. The harsher penalties and improved victim assistance measures were outlined as key measures of the directive however a proactive stance is also being developed. Civil Liberties Committee rapporteur Anna Hedh (S&D, Sweden) said, "We also have to work on the roots of human trafficking, such as the demand for services. The human body is not a commodity that can be used and sold for money.” The EU is adopting a multi-pronged strategy to address human trafficking, with a proactive focus on identifying the root cause of the problem. The shift from a reactive to proactive stance is crucial if we are to change the systemic inequalities helping perpetuate the cycle of abuse. The global community’s recognition of the severity of the problem through legislative mandates is a key aspect in the fight to move beyond a culture of ignorance to a culture of action. The new legislation is complemented by the recent launch of the EU’s Anti-Trafficking Website. With each passage of anti-human trafficking legislation we spring forth from the silence and stop the complicity inherent in avoidance of the issue.
Elise: Although the California law SB 657 is directed toward U.S. companies, the bill will undoubtedly have international effects through the thousands of businesses with global supply chains, which will now be required to disclose measures they are taking to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from those supply chains. As Governor Schwarzenegger stated during the signing event, "This legislation will increase transparency, allow consumers to make better, more informed choices and motivate businesses to ensure humane practices throughout the supply chain." Representative Carolyn Maloney is considering introducing a similar bill on the federal level. While consumers do have the power to demand accountability through purchasing power, these laws can help ensure we have the information we need to make those decisions. I am certain 2011 will see more of these types of bills progress and hopefully have the desired effect of preventing some forms of trafficking.
Though it has been several months since the release of The Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, a careful examination of the report’s pros and cons is still in order. The intent of the report is to provide a reliable source for consumers and companies so they can make ethical choices about where they purchase and source products from, with the hope that if people do not purchase products tainted by child/forced labor, we can eliminate the problem.
The study was created by the Department of Labor’s International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) and details the products produced in various countries where child and forced labor are often used (both in the formal and informal economy). The study covers 122 products in 58 different countries, which are in various stages of development and are located in every region of the world. Some of the more commonly listed goods are sugarcane, gold, carpets, coffee, cotton, rice, coal and cocoa.
The findings of the report are certainly useful for those who are interested in pushing for a world free from child and forced labor, but there are also several limitations to the study. Though I cannot provide a comprehensive evaluation of the pros and cons of this study I do want to briefly examine some of them.
The first pro is that the study provides a general guide that consumers and companies can use when choosing where to purchase or source products from. Though some of this information is already public knowledge (in that you could do an online search and find that child labor occurs in Thailand’s shrimp industry), this report puts information about the nature of many different products in one place, while providing further informational sources should one wish to know more.
The second pro, is that the report provides a means of empowerment for consumers. If someone is interested in buying shrimp, they could use this resource to make a more informed decision about their purchase. If the bag or fishmonger says the shrimp comes from Thailand, they can buy from another brand or store that does not. Consumers can also use this knowledge to petition companies not to purchase potentially tainted products from these countries (note: see con below).
The third pro is that the report provides a mechanism for change. Though it is likely that not every country or every product produced using child or forced labor is included in this list, it can provide people and governments a means to put pressure on other governments to make changes. Governments are more likely to take action when they realize that information of this nature is widely distributed. In a similar way to how countries react to the Trafficking in Persons Report each year, no one wants to be portrayed as a safe haven for child or forced labor. This report hopefully will lead to stronger mechanisms for preventing and prosecuting such cases within the countries examined.
Despite the benefit of these reports, there are also a few cons, which should be taken seriously when examining the report. The first and perhaps most important con to this study is that it is not very useful for highly manufactured items. For example, my shirt might be made in Untied States (though unlikely) in a factory where there is no forced/child labor and the shirt says it is made in the US. What I do not know, as a consumer, is where the cotton came from, how the dyes where made, where the machines that made the shirt came from and where the materials used to make the machine that make the shirt originated. I may make this purchase believing I am not contributing to child/forced labor since my shirt was made in the US. In reality though, I may be contributing to the problem because the cotton came from India or the metals came from a forced labor mine in the Congo. This guide while useful cannot help me make an ethical decision about that purchase.
The second con is that while the report acts as a shaming mechanism for governments, it misses a primary contributor to the problem, corporations. While governments are responsible for regulating the production of items in their country, companies are contributing (knowingly or not) to the problem by purchasing from other companies that use child/forced labor. Corporations need to share in the responsibility and blame for this and this report avoids holding them accountable by seemingly placing all the blame on governments. Corporations can be a force for good in this fight, but are still not being held accountable by those who could, including the US Government.
The final con is that there is a danger in condemning a whole industry within a country due to child or forced labor. While it is a good general rule of thumb, it can also severely harm companies that are trying to do the right thing. If we condemn all cocoa producers in a country, but not all of the producers use child or forced labor, they too will suffer when consumers demand a company stop sourcing items from that country. The report in some sense encourages people to punish whole countries for the practices of some or perhaps even a majority of companies in that country with regard to the product of interest. We should encourage companies that do not use child or forced labor, and large corporations should reward them by sourcing from these companies. Additionally condemning every company in a country can be particularly harmful to the companies that are trying to do the right thing since their labor costs etc. tend to be higher. Companies that are trying to do the right thing are likely the first ones to feel the impact of a boycott, which really seems to defeat the purpose of such a ban.
I encourage everyone to take a glance at the report here. It is definitely a great contribution to society and a useful resource for reducing child/forced labor (which sometimes includes trafficking), but the report should be seen both for what it does and does not do.
Shop to Stop Slavery Releases 2010 Ethical Christmas & Holiday Gift GuideLearning how to be a socially conscious shopper this holiday season has just been made easier by Shop to Stop Slavery.
Jacksonville, FL, November 8, 2010 — ShoptoStopSlavery.com, a new concept website devoted to raising awareness about human trafficking, has released its very own, unique 2010 Ethical Christmas & Holiday Gift Guide. The premier edition of the guide aims to help shoppers make ethical choices in the gifts they offer this holiday season.
Many of the products purchased in the Western Hemisphere are produced by slaves or exploited groups of people. Robin Rossmanith, founder of Shop to Stop Slavery, states “It is a shame that the items that bring joy to our children, friends and family members are created in a manner that brings suffering to others.”
Consumers who are concerned about making socially conscious shopping choices can make a difference by purchasing items with the “fair trade certified” label or those shown to be made ethically. Through such purchases, they are supporting manufacturers and brands that are committed to not exploiting others. Luckily there are many options available for fairly made product purchases. However, sometimes consumers have to spend hours researching to find the right gift.
The 2010 Ethical Christmas & Holiday Gift Guide is a compilation of almost 100 US based stores that carry fair trade and/or ethically made products. The guide includes links to stores for easy access by the viewer. The Ethical Christmas & Holiday Gift Guide will make socially conscious shopping easier for the consumer. The gift guide can be viewed at www.ShopToStopSlavery.com/Gift-Guide and is also available for download.
The 2010 Ethical Christmas & Holiday Gift Guide was created by Robin Rossmanith, founder of http://www.shoptostopslavery.com. Robin has a background in retail sales, as well as extensive knowledge of human trafficking. After discovering that 27 million people worldwide are living in slavery and a shocking number of them were right here in the United States, Robin Rossmanith, a Jacksonville, Florida mother of 3 school age children, committed herself to becoming an activist for the cause. Robin became the co-chair of the Northeast Florida Human Trafficking Task Force, in 2010, leading individuals and agencies in a community wide effort to prevent human trafficking, rescue and restore victims and prosecute traffickers.
Also in 2010, Robin began ShoptoStopSlavery.com, a website dedicated to informing consumers about products made with forced labor and providing opportunities for consumers to purchase slave free goods. Shop to Stop Slavery seeks to engage everyone in the efforts to end human trafficking. “Even the seemingly little things, like the Christmas gifts you buy, can make a big impact towards ending the exploitation of those people worldwide who are most risk.”
ShoptoStopSlavery.com is a blog created by anti-human trafficking activist Robin Rossmanith, outlining ways to increase awareness and help eliminate modern day slavery. As the co-chairperson of an anti-human trafficking task force, she has become intimately aware of the risks posed by these types of crimes.
According to their website:International Sanctuary works to rehabilitate girls rescued from sexual slavery, provides them with marketable training, and empowers them with the skills they need to sustain themselves, pursuing better futures filled with hope. he girls are paid 100% above fair trade wage.
Each girl has a bank account where her earnings are deposited and saved for her future when she transitions out of the home. The Fair Trade Federation is an association that was established as a global movement to build equitable and sustainable partnerships in order to alleviate poverty. Fair trade wage is calculated according to each country's economic scale. Fair Trade products ensure that items were not made by slave labor. The additional funds cover the material cost, shipping, and tax.
The concept of Purchase with Purpose™ is that consumers should have the opportunity to use their money in a powerful way. When you buy from iSanctuary, you not only receive the merchandise, you also change lives. Purchasing a product from iSanctuary provides a foundation for survivors futures. Proceeds offer rescued girls vocational training, education, and monetary savings upon their transition from the aftercare home.
The Nomi Network has released its new fall collection. The items are designed in New York and made in Cambodia with recycled rice-paper material by survivors of sexual trafficking and women at-risk. Click view the fall collection and other items, click here.
Buy Her Bag Not her Body is created by Nomi Network, a non-profit organization working to eradicate sexual slavery and the trafficking of women. They have created a partnership between the fashion industry and cause-driven, well-designed merchandise made by at-risk women and survivors of sexual exploitation, providing them with fair, sustainable employment opportunities. 100% of the profit is reinvested into training and career development programs for women.
Trial trails An American court blocks human-rights suits against businesses
Oct 7th 2010
WHEN lawyers for a group of Burmese villagers used an obscure American law in 1996 to sue Unocal, an oil company, for using forced labour and other abuses while constructing a pipeline in Myanmar, human-rights campaigners saw a new way of attacking companies (as opposed to their executives in person) for misdeeds abroad. A flurry of headline-grabbing suits followed. Nine Nigerians, including relatives of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a playwright, accused Shell of complicity in human-rights abuses. Vietnamese villagers sued Dow Chemical and others for injuries caused by the Agent Orange herbicide.
This avenue was abruptly closed recently when the second circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled on September 17th that corporations could not be held liable under the Alien Tort Claims Act for breaches of international law abroad. Businesses had long argued this, but no American court had ruled clearly on the issue before. Both companies and their accusers reckoned that the courts treated the principle of liability as a given.
The decision, if upheld, will bring new clarity and an end to such lawsuits. But until all avenues of appeal are exhausted, the precedent will not be firmly set. The Supreme Court declined on October 4th to rule immediately on the specific question of whether corporations could be held liable under international law. It had been asked to do so by Talisman Energy of Canada, which won a case brought by Sudanese plaintiffs who accused it of conspiring with their government to commit genocide.
If this decision is upheld, it will be a blow to efforts to hold corporations accountable for profiting from slavery, forced labor, and child labor. I find the ruling particularly ironic, given that the Supreme Court recently rule that the government cannot restrict an individual's free speech rights for being incorporated; like Judge Pierre Leval who wrote the dissent for this New York case, I wonder why individuals are exempt from civil liability for slave trading if they are incorporated. As The Economist points out, regardless of the US' decision, other countries may continue to hold corporations accountable. However, if the US wishes to address the root causes of slavery and other human rights abuses, it must also hold corporations accountable.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced [on 9/30/2010 that] he has signed SB 657 by Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) to help eliminate slavery and human trafficking from product supply chains.
“Human trafficking is a terrible crime that goes against basic human rights and everything our country stands for,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “I am proud that in California, we have enacted some of the toughest laws to punish human traffickers and protect their victims. This legislation will increase transparency, allow consumers to make better, more informed choices and motivate businesses to ensure humane practices throughout the supply chain.”
SB 657 requires major retail sellers and manufacturers doing business in California to disclose their voluntary efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from its direct supply chain for tangible goods offered for sale.
With this bill, California has taken an important step forward in addressing human trafficking and the use of slave labor in the products that we buy. In addition to simply acknowledging the fact that slave labor exists in the supply chain for many of the goods that we consume, this bill encourages producers, retailers, and consumers to eliminate the use of slavery. By enacting this legislation, which is the first of its kind in the United States, California takes a leading role that hopefully other states will emulate.
Currently, Polaris Project is number 6 in the September Pepsi Refreash contest, which ends in two days. The top ten organizations will receive $50,000. You can vote daily online and/or by texting your vote to Pepsi (73774) with Polaris Project’s number: 102318. Pepsi Refresh is an online voting competition to give funds to good causes. Pepsi Refresh does a number of different voting competition each month to award different grant amounts. This month, from September 1st through September 30th, voting is open for the round of September grants. Polaris Project is part of this online voting competition, trying to raise $50K to support a number of its programs and anti-trafficking efforts, including its Fellowship program.
Polaris Project is one of the largest anti-trafficking organizations in the United States and Japan, with programs operating at international, national and local levels through our offices in Washington, DC; Newark, NJ; and Tokyo, Japan. Polaris Project is one of the few organizations working on all forms of trafficking and serving both citizen and foreign national victims of human trafficking.
Polaris Project's comprehensive approach to combating human trafficking includes conducting direct outreach and victim identification, providing social services and transitional housing to victims, operating the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) serving as the central national hotline on human trafficking, advocating for stronger state and Federal anti-trafficking legislation, and engaging community members in local and national grassroots efforts.
Many people, when they first learn about human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery, are compelled to act. Some people choose to educate themselves. In the process, they usually become aware that some of the products they buy could be tainted by slave labor. It is easy to become overwhelmed by the problem. There is very little a consumer can do to know whether the shirt they buy was produced ethically.
The consumer is not powerless though, and can do something to push for slave/trafficking free products.Companies, by nature, are concerned with their public image and whether or not they will have customers. They must constantly be sure that customers are satisfied with the products the company is selling. The only way companies know their customers are unsatisfied is if customers stop coming to the store or if they tell the company that they are unsatisfied. Too often in the fight against human trafficking and slavery I hear people demonizing and boycotting companies, particularly large corporations for their labor practices, without recognizing that these companies also have the most power to change labor practices within the industry for the better.
We need to engage these companies, not shun them.Companies are incredibly strategic. If a change will positively affect public image and thus customer flow into their stores, they likely will do it. Walmart now sells organic food because they believed it would attract more customers and because people asked for it. We need to use a similar mindset. If a company knows its customers really care about the type of labor used in the production of its products and believe it is negatively affecting their public image, it will likely begin trying to find solutions, though sometimes these solutions do not occur quickly.
There are many different ways to let companies know that you as a customer find their practices troubling and to ask the to take action. One particular method that seems to be popular right now is targeted online petition/email campaigns. These are a few of the campaigns I found and believe could be effective in this process.
General Chain Store ReactionThis is sponsored by Call + Response and allows you to send emails to many major chain stores. While there is already text written for each of the stores, you can also add or delete parts of the email based on what message you want to convey. This might be advisable since some of the emails are quite generic. For example, you could indicate which of their stores you frequent or which source products you are concerned about. The website also posts information on how many emails were sent to that company and whether or not they have responded. There are 767 companies listed on the website.
Chocolate Companies Here you can learnabout the horrific working/living conditions on the cocoa farms of West Africa. Additionally, you can petition companies such as Hershey’s and Mars to take action against these abuses.
Electronic Companies This site targets the 21 largest electronics companies and urges them to take serious action against conflict materials, which are often used in electronics. The conflict materials are usually obtained at great cost. Rape, war, and forced labor have surrounded the procurement of these materials. Tell companies you will buy their products once the conflict material free versions are available.
Diamonds This particular petition is directed towards members of the Kimberley Process which recently decided not to ban diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond field despite finding severe human rights violations including forced labor of adults and children. This is due to the fact that human rights violations alone are not enough to ban diamonds from a particular country. This petitions asks that this criteria be changed.There are many hurdles companies face in ensuring trafficked or enslaved labor is not in their supply chains. While these challenges are real, we need to make clear to these companies that their customers care. Until they know we care and are serious about this issue, it is likely that little will be done to ensure these companies’ supply chains are free of tainted labor.
Firms oppose California bill to disclose policing of labor practices Bill would require large firms to post online what they're doing to ensure that no one in their supply chain violates human rights. Business groups fear it could make them the target of enforcement actions and bad press.
August 13, 2010|By Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Sacramento —
California companies say they won't deal with suppliers who use forced labor to dig out gems for jewelry or sew buttons on clothes. But they won't support legislation that would force them to divulge what they're doing to monitor their suppliers' workforce practices.
A bill by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) would require retailers and manufacturers with annual revenue of at least $100 million to post on the Internet what they're doing — or not doing — to ensure that no one in their supply chain violates human rights.
The idea is to give shoppers and investors who want to support companies taking anti-slavery stands an opportunity to spend their money in a socially conscious way, proponents such as British actress Julia Ormond have argued.
Many companies, such as Gap Inc. and Nike Inc., voluntarily police suppliers' labor practices such as mining rare metals in Africa or sewing dresses in East Los Angeles, they said.
But major statewide business groups oppose any state mandate that could make them the target of government enforcement actions and resulting bad press.
"These are the kinds of issues that create great consternation for my companies, which spend a lot of time worrying about their image," said Dorothy Rothrock, a vice president of the California Manufacturers and Technology Assn.
The bill would require companies to reveal publicly whether they hire outside experts to check suppliers' labor practices, whether they conduct independent and unannounced audits of suppliers and whether suppliers certify that raw materials are processed in accordance with local and international labor and safety laws.
There's nothing onerous about the bill, said Steinberg, noting that it would affect only about 3.2% of California businesses. "These requirements seem relatively simple and very doable," he said.
What's more, he said, "it's good business to ensure that workers who make your products are treated with respect and dignity."
The bill, SB 657, passed the state Assembly and is awaiting a final vote in the Senate this month.
"Business has a vital role to play in using their supply chains as the road map to tackling strategically and impactfully the worst forms of poverty on the planet," Ormond testified at a recent legislative hearing. "Consumers need to know their level of engagement so they can make informed choices."
In case you are unaware, California is in process of considering The California Supply Chain Transparency Act of 2010 (SB 657) and The Slave and Sweat Free Code of Conduct for goods sold to the State of California (SB 1231). The former would require large companies to disclose all efforts to use 3rd parties to check and address the possibility of human trafficking and slavery in their supply chains, in part by independent random audits of the company’s suppliers. The latter bill would lead to prohibition on the Government of California from purchasing items from companies that are believed to used forced forms of labor.
While companies say they agree in principle to not using forced and exploitative forms of labor, they are not okay with the first bill which requires them to publicly state what they are doing to ensure their suppliers are not using such labor. Many companies are very worried about their public image and feel this bill could lead to bad press and increased enforcement on their companies as compared to small companies, which will not be required to report.
The goal is to give concerned consumers a mechanism to learn about what companies are doing and to enable them to make ethical decisions about their purchases.
Despite the companies' concerns, this is a very important step in the fight to get companies to take human rights violations in their supply chains seriously. If you live in California, please contact your Assembly Representative in support of SB657 and SB1231. You can find your representative at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html. If you do not, please sign this petition supported by the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking, which is targeted to Governor Schwarzenegger.
In January I attended a non-profit leadership conference where Lynn Lukow, the Executive Director of the Craigslist Foundation, spoke about the charitable contributions made by the website’s partner foundation.He focused his lecture on how Craigslist believes that strong communities are the cornerstone for a better society, how their company wants to do the most good for the most amount of people, how advocating for fair wages and decent jobs should be the focus of what they labeled themselves as the “independent sector.” Lukow also mentioned how Craigslist asks themselves over and over, “Are we doing the right thing?” He said if they find that they are not, then they need to regroup.
During the question and answer period at the end of his speech, I nervously stepped up the microphone and asked why, with all their attempts at building strong communities and their focus on “thinking holistically,” did they continue to allow the buying and selling of sexual services on their website? Did this really fit into their goals toward community development?
For years Craigslist has been under fire for allowing erotic services to be posted on their website.Most recently, the website has been blamed for the creation and growth of prostitution rings – some involving underage girls and boy - in several cities, including my most recent place of residence, Kansas City, Missouri.
Lukow replied, extremely flustered might I add, that Craigslist does not allow illegal activity to be sold on their website.But if illegal services are offered, there is very little they can do to stop the activity because so much is being bought and sold on Craigslist that it is nearly impossible to censor everything.
I asked if this was a moral dilemma for a foundation that prides themselves on utilitarian ideals. He said that Craigslist believes that communities can decide for themselves what should be bought and sold in their communities.
This comment was insinuating – hopefully unintentionally- that if a community decides that it is permissible to sell the sexual services of boys, girls, men and women then they should be allowed to do this through their website.
As one might expect, Lukow was regarded as a complete flop after these rushed, almost incoherent and false statements. His responses were counterproductive and caused an entire conference of 700 young people to think twice before visiting his website.
All across America, people are learning more about the injustices spread through Craigslist. They are boycotting it, using other websites like www.kijiji.com as a replacement. This movement has taken root and is beginning to make profound change.
Today in the news, there is a movement to stop the “Adult Services” portion of the website.
CHAPTER 6: EATING, WEARING, WALKING AND TALKING SLAVERY
Slavery probably crept into your life several times today, some before you even got to work. Rolling off your bed, standing on that pretty hand-woven rug, maybe you threw on a cotton t-shirt. In the kitchen did you make a cup of coffee, spoon in a little sugar, and then kick back with a chocolate croissant and your laptop to check the headlines? After a shower, maybe you drove to the station. Waiting for the train, perhaps you made a couple of calls on your cell phone.
All in all a normal day, but slavery was involved in almost every step. Hundreds of thousands of rugs are hand-woven by slaves in the “carpet belt” of India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Cotton is grown with slave labor in India, West Africa, and Uzbekistan, the world’s second largest producer. Coffee cultivation also encompasses slave labor, mainly in Africa. Enslaved Haitian workers harvest the sugar in the Dominican Republic, the largest exporter of sugar to the U.S. The chocolate in that croissant can also be the product of slavery, from the cocoa farms of the Ivory Coast. Even the steel and iron in your car can be polluted by slavery. From a quarter to a half of all U.S. imports of raw iron in different forms come from Brazil.[i] In that country slaves burn the forests to make charcoal, which in turn is used to smelt ore into pig iron and iron into steel. In America, the single largest consumer of Brazilian iron and steel is the automotive industry, though the construction industry also uses a large amount. Pressed against your ear, that cell phone keeps you connected to friends and family, but also to slavery. Cell phones (and laptops and other electronics) just don’t work very well without a mineral called tantalum. In the Democratic Republic of Congo poor farmers are rounded up by armed gangs and enslaved to dig tantalum out of the ground. Every one of us, every day, touches, wears, and eats products tainted with slavery. Slave-made goods and commodities are everywhere in our lives, but, paradoxically, in small proportions. The volume is unacceptable, but rarely critical to our national economy or quality of life. And slavery in our lives is not restricted to cotton, coffee, cocoa, steel, rugs, and cell phones. The list goes on and on, with new commodities and products turning up all the time. Some of them, such as shrimp, might surprise you.
Huckleberry Finn it ain’t
If there is an archetypical picture of rural youth, it is the barefoot lad with the fishing pole over his shoulder. The dusty riverbanks, the lazy heat, the straw dangling from his lip, it all says that halcyon days are possible in our youth. Today even this picture out of Mark Twain is shot through with bondage. Across Africa and Asia children are enslaved to catch, clean, package, and dry fish. They feed a global demand for everything from shrimp cocktail to cat food. One of the world’s largest consumers of seafood is Japan, but the U.S. isn’t too far behind. Americans imported 2.5 million tons of seafood in 2006, worth over $13 billion.[ii] And when it comes to shrimp, the US imports significantly more than the seafood-loving Japanese. Americans love shrimp, and the little crustacean that was once an expensive specialty food is now as ubiquitous as chicken. More than three million tons of frozen shrimp were imported to the U.S. in 2006.[iii] The huge demand for shrimp in the U.S. and other rich countries has generated a gold rush along the coastlines of the developing world. From India to Bangladesh, from Indonesia to Ecuador, Guatemala and Brazil, coastal forests, mangrove swamps, and natural beaches are ripped up to build hundreds of thousands of acres of shrimp farms. In all of these places adults and children are enslaved to cultivate and harvest the shrimp.[iv] In some cases whole families are caught in debt bondage slavery, in others children are kidnapped and hustled off to shrimp and fish farms on remote islands. Children are regularly enslaved in fishing and shrimping, since kids can do the work and they are easier to enslave and control.
In Bangladesh, boys as young as eight are kidnapped and taken out to remote islands like Dublar Char off the southwest coast. Sold to the fishing crews for about $15, they are set to work processing fish on shore for 18 hours a day, seven days a week. If the boats return with a large catch they might work several days with no sleep at all. Like robots they clean, bone, and skin fish; shell mussels, shrimp and crab, and wash squid to remove the ink. Other children sort, weigh, check, and load the haul, processing and preparing the fish for freezing and shipment. The slaveholders sexually abuse the boys and beat them regularly. They get little food, no medical care, and sleep on the ground. If they sicken or are injured and die, they are thrown into the ocean.[v] Dublar Char was raided and the children freed in 2004 when researchers linked to the US anti-slavery group Free the Slaves discovered the situation. They worked with the State Department’s anti-trafficking office to bring diplomatic pressure on the Bangladeshi government, which led to a raid by military police. (The local police were on the take from the gangs running the island).
No one knows how many other remote islands conceal such slave camps. Much of the fish and shrimp from these islands enters the global markets and then comes to the U.S. Dublar Char is just one example of the slave operations that supply our hunger for seafood. Around the island of Sumatra in Indonesia the sea is dotted with what appear to be ramshackle rafts. They are actually fishing platforms, crudely lashed together and moored up to twenty miles off the coast. There are some 1,500 fishing platforms in this region, each holding three to ten children whose only avenue of escape is a twenty-mile swim. Promised a good job, they are left on the platform to cast nets, catch fish, and clean and dry the catch. In heavy weather the platforms can break up, children can be swept overboard, or they might simply fall through the holes in the rough bamboo deck. On irregular visits, the boss collects the fish and administers beatings to increase productivity. As in Dublar Char and so many other places, the children are sexually abused, and if they become ill, there is no relief. If they die of illness or injury, they are simply rolled into the water. The revenues from Indonesian fish exports reached $5 billion in 2006; America is one of the top destinations for frozen shrimp, canned tuna, tilapia and sea crab from that country.[vi]
Tobacco giant Philip Morris sold cigarettes made using child labour: Marlboro manufacturer admits 10-year-olds worked on Kazakh plantations
By Shaun Walker in MoscowThursday, 15 July 2010Tobacco giant Philip Morris has been forced to admit that child workers as young as 10 have been subjected to long hours working on tobacco farms with which it has contracts in the Central Asian state of Kazakhstan.
According to a report by Human Rights Watch, migrant workers at the farms, mostly from neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, were subjected to conditions that often amounted to forced labour, as employers contracted by tobacco farms that sold their produce to Philip Morris International had their passports confiscated and were often made to do additional work for no pay. The company, which sources tobacco from Kazakhstan for cigarette brands sold in Russia and other former Soviet states, said it was taking "immediate action" to stop the abuses.In many cases families were expected to pay back unrealistic debts to intermediaries who had arranged for their journeys to Kazakhstan, in schemes that bear all the hallmarks of people trafficking.
The report also documented 72 cases of children working on the farms.Philip Morris produces brands such as Marlboro and Chesterfield in over 150 countries around the world, and purchased 1,500 tonnes of tobacco from Kazakh farms in 2009.
The company issued a statement yesterday saying it is "grateful" to Human Rights Watch for raising the issues, and "is firmly opposed to child labour and all other labour abuses". The company says it is implementing a range of measures to ensure the abuses end, such as working with local government and NGOs to ensure school access for children of migrant workers, and implementing a system of third party monitoring to ensure tobacco farms comply with strict guidelines.
Jane Buchanan, the report's author, blamed the Kazakh government as well as Philip Morris for the abuses. She said yesterday that progress had been slow with the authorities in discussions over bureaucratic hurdles and the need to provide schooling for migrant workers' children."The commitments from [the government] have been very vague," she said. "It has been a lot of work to get them to accept the idea that migrant workers, even if they are working illegally, still have fundamental rights."According to Ms Buchanan, Human Rights Watch had first approached the tobacco conglomerate with the allegations in October last year, and there has been a "regular and constructive dialogue" since. "However, we have done some more research recently, and it's clear that not all the things they promised have been fully implemented yet," she said.
One woman told the report's authors that young children had developed red rashes on their necks and stomachs after working with the tobacco, and there were also cases of dangerous pesticides being stored in living areas. During a single work day, tobacco harvesters can be exposed to a similar amount of nicotine as would be found in 36 average-strength cigarettes, and workers are at risk of contracting Green Tobacco Sickness, where nicotine is absorbed through the skin from contact with tobacco leaves. The illness causes nausea, vomiting, headache, muscle weakness and dizziness, and children are particularly susceptible due to their small body size.Migrant workers come to Kazakhstan from impoverished neighbouring countries such as Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan where there are few job possibilities. They are allowed to enter for up to 90 days without a visa, and the complications in securing official work permits mean that many end up working illegally, and are thus at their employers' mercy.
In one of many such stories, Almira, 45, travelled to Kazakhstan from Kyrgyzstan with her husband and two children last year. They were promised by the intermediary who drove them to a tobacco farm in rural Malybai that they would be paid a minimum of $2,300 (£1,500) for their work over the season. However, when they arrived they were told they would have to work off debts from the journey, and had their passports confiscated by the landowner."He treated us really badly," recalls Almira. "We couldn't defend ourselves, since we were on his land after all. We worked for 11 to 13 hours a day. The work was really hard." The family contemplated running away, but this was impossible. "Our passports were with the landowner, and we had no money. If we left, then all of our work would be for nothing. And without money, how would we even get back home from there?"
According to a recent report by Human Rights Watch, Hellish Work, Philip Morris has benefited from child and forced labor through contracts it holds with tobacco farms in Kazakhstan. Migrant workers from neighboring countries, come to work in Kazakhstan’s tobacco fields and occasionally bring their families. In total, Human Rights Watch found 72 children working in the fields, some of whom were as young as 10.
Additionally, there were incidences of passport confiscation and workers not being paid. Workers face unsafe conditions such as exposure to pesticides, and levels of nicotine equaling around 36 regular cigarettes in one day. Workers are also at risk for contracting Green Tobacco Sickness, which causes symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting and headaches; children are particularly vulnerable.
Some workers owed large debts to recruiters who arranged their travel and therefore felt unable to leave. Philip Morris promised immediate action, and committed to working with NGOs and local governments to ensure the children of migrant workers are in school. They also pledged to develop third party monitoring systems to ensure that strict policies are followed in the fields. Human Rights Watch is skeptical since they provided information from their research to the company last fall and recent research shows that conditions still have not improved.Since the story broke, the United States Congressional Committee on Energy and Commerce has asked Philip Morris to hand over any information it has about allegations of child or forced labor in the production of the tobacco it uses, as well as any allegations of document confiscation or unsafe living conditions. The committee also requested information on what the company has done to address these issues. It is unclear whether Philip Morris will respond to these requests, but the committee has asked them to provide the information towards the beginning of next month.
The report notes that, despite a commitment in 1997 to end the use of child labor in the industry, children are still sewing soccer balls. Moreover, even as the apparent crackdown on child labor failed to eradicate this practice, it also did nothing to address the poor working conditions in the industry, according to the report (In one Chinese factory, workers were found to work up to 21 hours a day during high seasons and without one day off in an entire month).
The report concludes, "Over a decade after the signing of the Atlanta Agreement child labor still exists in the soccer ball industry. As the preceding data clearly demonstrates, although action was taken to eradicate child labor in the late 1990s, very little was done to end its root causes. The parents working in the soccer ball industry are still receiving next to nothing for their work. They are working as temporary or casual employees and therefore receiving none of the benefits that can keep their families healthy. Despite each countries’ cultural and governmental differences, the soccer ball industries in these countries share the same problems: casual or temporary work, poverty level wages, discrimination, restriction of the right to organize or collective bargain, and health and safety violations."
The ILRF is using this report to put pressure on FIFA to take a lead in eradicating the use of child labor and abusive labor practices in the production of soccer balls. While the World Cup has concluded, it will take consistent efforts to end this abuse. The ILRF is conducting an email campaign to Joseph Blatter, president of FIFA.
In addition to putting pressure on FIFA and the professional wing of the sport, we can also take action to end abuse and ensure fair labor practices through the products that we buy. Soccer enthusiasts and other sports players can check out Fair Trade Sports, which sells soccer balls and other sporting equipment that is certified Fair Trade and certified green. Please see an example, pictured above.
Hello, I'm a Mac, and I'm helping fuel the war in the Congo - currently the deadliest conflict in the world. So are PCs, cell phones, digital cameras and other consumer electronics. That's what Apple's famous "I'm a Mac ... And I'm a PC" ads don't tell you. So I (Brooke) and cinematographer Steven Lubensky, with the help of actors Joshua Malina and John Lehr, decided to create a version that does.
It is not surprising if you didn't know that your favorite Apple gadgets -- your iPhone, iPad, iPod and Mac -- are linked to the conflict engulfing the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo today and for the past dozen years. Most people don't know - which is in part why the war in Congo has gone on for so long. With more than 5 million people killed, it is the deadliest conflict since World War II.
Tech titans -- including Nintendo, HP, Dell, Intel, and RIM, the makers of BlackBerry -- have made millions from products that use conflict minerals and have gotten off the hook for fueling violence in the Congo, thanks to a tendency in today's culture not to question where our everyday items come from.
That's not necessarily a criticism; it's just the way the world works now, where we interact with materials from every corner of the globe on a daily basis. So we tend to think that our new iPhone came from the Mac store down the street or our new digital camera originated from an online camera store. But as you see in our video, the problem arises with all the components inside.
Essential parts of our electronic devices are made from minerals found in eastern Congo. Tin, tantalum, tungsten -- the 3Ts -- and gold serve such necessary functions as making our cell phones vibrate or helping our iPods store electricity.
The same armed groups who control most of the mines that supply these essential minerals to the world market are responsible for the epidemic of sexual violence in eastern Congo. Women and girls pay a gruesome price, and the persistent health conditions and severe trauma that linger for years after an attack are leaving communities and families in utter ruin. In addition, the labor conditions in the mines are abysmal. Indentured servitude is common practice, and children as young as 11 are used to squeeze into the tight spaces underground.
There are few conflicts in the world where the link between our consumer appetites and mass human suffering is so direct.
The lucrative mineral trade -- estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually -- perpetuates the violence because it enables militias and government soldiers to buy weapons to continue the fight for these valuable resources. All along the supply chain that winds its way through central Africa, armed groups and governments benefit immensely from the trade in conflict minerals, making it a very stubborn problem to eradicate.
This reality isn't the result of an elaborate cover-up. Until consumers started asking, electronics companies were satisfied to say that they didn't know whether their products were made with conflict minerals from Congo. The trade in minerals from eastern Congo is shockingly opaque, hence the easy exploitation. Even now, as the issue of conflict minerals gains traction, companies like Apple continue to tell us that their products do not contain conflict minerals because their suppliers said so.
From towns and campuses across the United States to the U.S. Congress, advocates are protesting this inadequate response and pushing to put a system in place to trace, audit, and certify the minerals in our electronic devices, so that ultimately, we as consumers can choose to buy conflict-free.
Visit RAISE Hope for Congo, www.raisehopeforcongo.org, and send the message to tech companies that you want them to make their products conflict-free. And please share this video with your friends.
Brooke Smith is an actress, writer and director. Brooke has acted in many feature films including "The Silence of the Lambs", "Vanya on 42nd Street" and "Series 7: The Contenders." On television, Brooke played Dr. Erica Hahn on "Grey's Anatomy." The MAC/PC Conflict minerals ad is the third PSA Brooke has directed for The Enough Project's RAISE Hope for Congo campaign.
John Prendergast is Co-Founder of Enough, the anti-genocide project at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., and co-author with Don Cheadle of the forthcoming book The Enough Moment.
With the release of the new iPhone 4, various groups are attempting to raise consumer awareness about where the materials used in cell phones originate.The reality is sickening.Two opinion pieces posted within the last week, one by Brooke Smith and John Prendergast for the Huffington Post (shown above) and one by Nicholas Kristof (link below) for the New York Times, detail how our demand for cell phones, and lack of real corporate accountability are fueling the war in Congo, at least in part.
Essential minerals used in the production of cell phones, such as (Tin, tantalum, tungsten among others), are sourced from the Congo. The mineral trade is very lucrative there and those who are in control of the mines are the same people responsible for mass rape in the country along with indentured servitude and the use of child labor in these mines.Electronics companies claim that their products are free from conflict materials but this is because the suppliers tell them they are conflict free not because they are.This is why many people are calling for companies to take more interest and be more responsible for their supply chain.
If you are interested in learning more, please watch the video Brooke and her team put together which is posted here.To take action please visit http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/take-action and click on the Commit to Purchase Conflict Free Electronics, where you can email the 21 largest electronic companies and let them know you are committed to conflict free electronics.Tell your friends too.Until corporations know their customers are serious about conflict free materials, they won’t take the problem seriously.Make sure to check out Kristof’s article as well http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/opinion/27kristof.html?scp=1&sq=death%20by%20gadget&st=cse
