EU Council, Parliament agree to ban products made with forced labour

The European Union Council and the European Parliament on Tuesday reached a provisional agreement to ban the entry of products made with forced labour into the European single market.

The agreement clarifies the different responsibilities the EU Commission and the member states have in identifying the companies exploiting forced workers and banning their products.

The bans would be enforced on goods made outside the EU by forced labour and on products manufactured in the EU with parts made abroad by forced labour.

The provisional agreement still needs to be formally approved by the European Parliament and the Council to be enforced.

The ban comes as hundreds of thousands of Uyghur Muslims in China have been facing forced labor for years. Despite the reports and warnings of human rights institutions, no serious measures have been taken to improve their status quo.

Earlier this year, after reports of Uyghurs’ forced labor in China was published to expose a large joint German-Chinese company, the firm announced that it will stop most of its activities in China.

Although China has repeatedly denied the forced labor of Uyghurs, reports and documents of international human rights organizations have clearly shown that Uyghur Muslims have always been suppressed, especially in Xinjiang.