“The idea is to be able to say that we Europeans establish policies that put the responsibility on transnational companies that escape the law”, explained Friday June 10 on franceinfo Nayla Ajaltouni, general delegate of the Ethics collective on the label. The European Parliament adopts a resolution which advocates banning the import of all products made by forced labor, as is the case with the Uyghurs in China.
franceinfo: What do you think of this decision?
Nayla Ajaltouni: This is an important step forward, a very strong political signal sent to the European Commission. The European Parliament, which by an overwhelming majority, on behalf of European citizens, calls on the Commission to implement Ursula von der Leyen’s promise given in September 2021 to prevent products from slavery.
This principle is used in the United States, is it effective?
The American law has just been implemented so we have little perspective on its effectiveness. These kinds of rules are not panaceas because we cannot control all the goods that come in, but there are already goods that have been seized. These legal instruments make it possible to provide the means to verify what was not the case until now and not the case in the European Union. Another important instrument is the duty of vigilance directive, a first text of which has been proposed.
“It is the combination of these instruments that will allow us to put an end to this impunity and to have products that respect human rights as European consumers.”
Nayla Ajaltouni, general delegate of the Ethics on Labels collectiveat franceinfo
We talk a lot about the Uyghurs and China, but it’s not just about them.
Yes, because we could not denounce a country or a region. It is true that the forced labor of the Uyghurs has been widely publicized and fortunately because we are in situations of slavery and very significant abuses. But the idea is not to target a region, it’s to be able to say that in general, beyond the countries in question, we Europeans establish policies that put the responsibility on the transnational corporations that escape the law.
Can we do without products made by forced labor in China today?
Not necessarily right away, but we have to be able to. World trade has never been subjected in a binding manner to respect for the most fundamental human rights. These rights exist, are framed by international conventions signed by the States within the framework of the United Nations.
If a text is adopted, when will it come into force?
It is between months and a year. We have waited twice for the text on the duty of vigilance. So we can hope to have at the start of the next school year a first draft text from the Commission that Parliament will then rework to improve it. In general, there is at least a year of negotiations to end up with finalized texts.