[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 241 (Thursday, December 16, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78755-78758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31213]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary
Notice of Initial Determination Revising the List of Products
Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced/Indentured
Child Labor Pursuant to Executive Order 13126
AGENCY: Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), Labor.
ACTION: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This initial determination proposes to revise the list
required by Executive Order No. 13126 (``Prohibition of Acquisition of
Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor''), in accordance
with the Department of Labor's ``Procedural Guidelines for the
Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor
Certification as to Forced or Indentured
[[Page 78756]]
Child Labor.'' This notice proposes to add a product, (along with its
country of origin) to the list that the Department of Labor
preliminarily believes might have been mined, produced, or manufactured
by forced or indentured child labor. This notice also proposes to
remove a product (along with its country of origin) from the list
where, preliminarily, the Department of Labor has reason to believe
that the use of forced or indentured child labor has been significantly
reduced if not eliminated. The Department of Labor invites public
comment on this initial determination. The Department will consider all
public comments prior to publishing a final determination updating the
list of products, made in consultation and cooperation with the
Department of State, and the Department of Homeland Security.
DATES: Information should be submitted to the Office of Child Labor,
Forced Labor and Human Trafficking (OCFT) via one of the methods
described below by 5 p.m., February 15, 2011.
To Submit Information, or for Further Information, Contact:
Information submitted to the Department should be submitted directly to
OCFT, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor
at (202) 693-4843 (this is not a toll free number). Comments,
identified as ``Docket No. DOL-2010-0005,'' may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
The portal includes instructions for submitting comments. Parties
submitting responses electronically are encouraged not to submit paper
copies.
Facsimile (fax): OCFT at 202-693-4830.
Mail, Express Delivery, Hand Delivery, and Messenger
Service (2 copies): Brandie Sasser at U.S. Department of Labor, OCFT,
Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Room S-5317, Washington, DC 20210.
E-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On June 12, 1999, President Clinton signed Executive Order No.
13126 (EO 13126), which was published in the Federal Register on June
16, 1999 (64 FR 32383). EO 13126 declared that it was ``the policy of
the United States Government * * * that the executive agencies shall
take appropriate actions to enforce the laws prohibiting the
manufacture or importation of good, wares, articles, and merchandise
mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part by forced or
indentured child labor.'' Pursuant to EO 13126, and following public
notice and comment, the Department of Labor published in the January
18, 2001, Federal Register, a list of products (the ``List'') (along
with their respective countries of origin) that the Department, in
consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State and Treasury
(relevant responsibilities now within the Department of Homeland
Security), had a reasonable basis to believe might have been mined,
produced or manufactured with forced or indentured child labor (66 FR
5353). The Department also published on January 18, 2001, ``Procedural
Guidelines for Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal
Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor''
(Procedural Guidelines), which provide guidelines on the maintenance,
review, and as appropriate, revision of the List (66 FR 5351).
The Procedural Guidelines provide that the List may be updated
through considerations of submissions by individuals and on the
Department's own initiative. In either event, when proposing to update
the List, the Department of Labor must publish in the Federal Register
a notice of initial determination, which includes any proposed
alteration to the List. The Department will consider all public
comments prior to the publication of a final determination of an
updated list, which is made in consultation and cooperation with the
Departments of State and Homeland Security.
On January 18, 2001, pursuant to Section 3 of the EO 13126, the
Federal Acquisition Regulatory Councils published a final rule to
implement specific provisions of EO 13126 that requires, among other
things, that federal contractors who supply products that appear on the
List issued by the Department certify to the contracting officer that
the contractor, or, in the case of an incorporated contractor, a
responsible official of the contractor, has made a good faith effort to
determine whether forced or indentured child labor was used to mine,
produce or manufacture any product furnished under the contract and
that, on the basis of those efforts, the contractor is unaware of any
such use of child labor. See 48 CFR Subpart 22.15.
On September 11, 2009, the Department of Labor published an initial
determination in the Federal Register proposing to update the List to
include 29 products from 21 countries. The Notice requested public
comments for a period of 90 days. Public comments were received and
reviewed by all relevant agencies, and a final determination was issued
on July 20, 2010 that included all products proposed in the initial
determination except for carpets from India. (75 FR 42164).
The current List and the Procedural Guidelines can be accessed on
the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/regs/eo13126/main.htm or can be
obtained from: OCFT, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Room S-
5317, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-4843; fax (202) 693-4830.
II. Definition of Forced/Indentured Child Labor
Under Section 6(c) of EO 13126:
``Forced or indentured child labor'' means all work or service--
(1) Exacted from any person under the age of 18 under the menace of
any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker does not
offer himself voluntarily; or
(2) Performed by any person under the age of 18 pursuant to a
contract the enforcement of which can be accomplished by process or
penalties.
Information Sought
The Department is requesting public comment on the revisions to the
List proposed below, as well as any other issue related to the fair and
effective implementation of EO 13126. This notice is a general
solicitation of comments from the public. All submitted comments will
be made a part of the public record and will be available for
inspection and on www.regulations.gov.
In conducting research for this initial determination, the
Department considered a wide variety of materials originating from its
own research, other U.S. Government agencies, foreign governments,
international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs),
U.S. Government-funded technical assistance and field research
projects, academic research, independent research, media, and other
sources. The Department of State and U.S. embassies and consulates
abroad also provide important information by gathering data from
contacts, conducting site visits, and reviewing local media sources.
Further, for this initial determination, the Department sought
additional information from the public through a call for information
published in the Federal Register on February 24, 2010.
In developing the revised List, the Department's review focused on
available information concerning the
[[Page 78757]]
use of forced or indentured child labor. The lack of available
information does not, by itself, establish that, in any particular
country, or for any particular product, forced or indentured child
labor is not being used. Government resources for acquiring information
are limited. In addition, information about actual working conditions
in some countries is difficult or impossible to obtain, for a variety
of reasons. For example, governments are unable or unwilling to
cooperate with international efforts, or with the efforts of NGOs, to
uncover and address abuses. Institutions or organizations that might
uncover such information, such as free and independent news media,
trade unions, and NGOs also may not exist.
As outlined in the Procedural Guidelines, several factors were
weighed in determining whether or not a product should be placed on the
revised List: The nature of the information describing the use of
forced or indentured child labor; the source of the information; the
date of the information; the extent of corroboration of the information
by appropriate sources; whether the information involved more than an
isolated incident; and whether recent and credible efforts are being
made to address forced or indentured child labor in a particular
country and industry.
This notice constitutes the initial determination updating the EO
13126 list issued July 20, 2010. Based on recent, credible, and
appropriately corroborated information from various sources, the
Departments of Labor, State, and Homeland Security have preliminarily
concluded that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the
following product, identified by its country of origin, might have been
mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor:
Product: Hand-Woven Textiles
Country: Ethiopia
In addition, the Departments of Labor, State, and Homeland Security
have preliminarily concluded that there is no longer a reasonable basis
to believe that the use of forced or indentured child labor in the
production of the following product, identified by its country of
origin:
Product: Charcoal
Country: Brazil
After the July 2010 update to the List, the Department of Labor
received recent, credible, and appropriately corroborated information
from various sources on the use of forced or indentured child labor in
charcoal production in Brazil. This information indicates that while
children previously worked under forced labor conditions in charcoal
production, there is no longer a reasonable basis the problem has been
significantly reduced if not eliminated. Therefore, the Departments of
Labor, State, and Homeland Security have preliminarily concluded that
there is no longer a reasonable basis to believe that charcoal from
Brazil is produced by forced or indentured child labor and therefore it
should not continue to be on the List.
The Government of Brazil has developed a comprehensive approach to
combat forced labor, including forced child labor, that includes robust
policies and legislation, strong enforcement efforts, allocation of
financial resources, and programs to assist victims of forced labor.
For example, legislation requires fines and imprisonment of four to
twelve years for the use of forced child labor, and the Government
provides financial and employment assistance to victims of forced
labor. The Government is currently implementing its Second National
Plan to Combat Forced Labor and also has established a National
Agreement to Eradicate Forced Labor, which involves more than 130
parties whose efforts are monitored and tracked online. Brazil also
publishes a ``Dirty List'' (Lista Suja) of forced labor cases,
including the names of companies and property owners who employ workers
under forced labor conditions. The Government has created a Special
Mobile Inspection Unit (GEFM) at the Ministry of Labor and Employment
(MTE), which performs on-site investigations of forced labor cases.
GEFM is composed of teams of labor inspectors, Labor Public Ministry
attorneys, and members of the National Police. Currently, more than 100
labor inspectors are part of this inspection unit. To resolve such
cases, GEFM has the right to initiate formal charges, to settle the
complaint at the scene of the crime, and to levy fines. Such fines are
used to enhance enforcement efforts, undertake preventative efforts,
and to provide services to forced labor victims, including children.
In response to being placed on the List, the Government of Brazil
provided additional information to the Department of Labor on the
status of forced or indentured child labor in charcoal production. The
information included disaggregated data that indicates that, from
January 2007 to September 2010, the MTE conducted 1,924 labor
inspections in 23 states and found no child under 18 working under
forced labor conditions in charcoal production. The MTE's public Web
site shows that from January 2007 to August 2010, the GEFM conducted
499 investigations of forced labor cases, inspected 1,025 businesses,
and rescued more than 16,000 workers from forced labor conditions.
While the Government collects data in a disaggregated manner,
information made publicly available on the Web site is not
disaggregated by age or sector.
To corroborate the Brazilian Government's data that indicated no
evidence of forced child labor in charcoal production, the Department
accessed information publicly available since the end of the previous
research period (2008-2010) and spoke with a number of stakeholders
actively engaged in forced labor issues in the charcoal sector. These
sources, which included the International Labor OrganizaILO, Reporter
Brasil, the Citizens' Charcoal Institute (ICC), and the Pastoral Land
Commission (CPT), indicate that forced child labor in the production of
charcoal has been significantly reduced if not eliminated. Both the CPT
and ICC provided monitoring data to support these claims, although the
CPT data differs slightly from the Government's data. The CPT, which
receives complaints of forced labor cases, carries out independent
forced labor monitoring and also refers cases to the GEFM, reported
that from June 2008 to August 2010, it submitted five complaints of
forced labor in charcoal to MTE that involved 76 victims, including 10
children. Thus, while it appears that there continue to be isolated
cases of forced child labor, the Government has established mechanisms
to address and respond to such cases. The ICC, which independently
monitors labor conditions in charcoal enterprises in the states of
Par[aacute], Maranh[atilde]o, Tocantins, and Piau[iacute], has carried
out 2,793 inspections in 158 municipalities, registered 145,917
charcoal kilns, and reached out to more than 52,000 charcoal workers.
It found no evidence of forced child labor in these businesses.
According to information obtained, factors driving the reduction in
forced child labor in the charcoal industry have included increased
government enforcement, government collaboration with civil society,
awareness-raising among workers, and monitoring systems put in place by
companies in the pig iron/charcoal supply chain.
It is important to note that information obtained by the Department
indicates that adult forced labor and child labor that is not forced is
still occurring in the production of charcoal. Therefore, while the
Department is proposing to remove charcoal from Brazil from the EO
13126 List, it will continue to be included on The
[[Page 78758]]
Department of Labor's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced
Labor.
The Department invites public comment on whether these products
(and/or other products, regardless of whether they are mentioned in
this Notice) should be included on or removed from the revised List of
products requiring federal contractor certification as to the use of
forced or indentured child labor. To the extent possible, comments
provided should address the criteria for inclusion of a product on the
List contained in the Procedural Guidelines discussed above. The
Department is also interested in public comments relating to whether
products initially determined to be on the List are designated with
appropriate specificity and whether alternative designations would
better serve the purposes of EO 13126.
The bibliography providing the preliminary basis for adding hand-
woven textiles from Ethiopia on the List and additional documentation
on the removal of charcoal from Brazil are available on the Internet at
http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/regs/eo13126/main.htm.
As explained, following receipt and consideration of comments on
the revised List set out above, the Department of Labor, in
consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State Homeland
Security, will issue a final determination in the Federal Register. The
Department of Labor intends to continue to revise the List
periodically, to add and/or delete products, as justified by new
information.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 8th day of December, 2010.
Sandra Polaski,
Deputy Undersecretary, Bureau of International Labor Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2010-31213 Filed 12-15-10; 8:45 am]
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