Proposal for a Council Decision authorising Member States to ratify, in the interest of the European Union, the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, of the International Labour Organisation with regard to matters related to social policy

The proposed Council Decisions will enable Member States to ratify the Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), hereinafter ‘the Protocol’.

The Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No 29) of the ILO (‘the Convention’) is one of the ILO’s eight fundamental Conventions that make up the core international labour standards, and it is considered a human rights instrument. In adopting the Convention in 1930, the International Labour Conference (‘the Conference’) called upon States to end the use of forced labour within the shortest possible period, and to criminalise the offence. Yet, more than 80 years later, despite almost universal ratification of the Convention, the practice still exists, albeit in different forms to those that provoked such concern in the early twentieth century. The ILO estimates that at least 20.9 million people globally are victims of forced labour.

The Protocol, adopted by the 103rd session of the Conference, seeks to address gaps in implementation and to make progress on preventing trafficking for labour exploitation and protecting and compensating victims of forced labour.

The European Union (EU) is committed to promoting human rights and decent work and to eradicating trafficking in human beings, both internally and in its external relations. Of particular importance in the context of the Protocol is also the commitment of the EU to the promotion of the protection of the rights of the child and gender equality, as women may be particularly vulnerable to some forms of forced labour. Rights at work are a key pillar of decent work. In ratifying ILO Conventions and related Protocols, EU Member States send an important signal on the coherence of the EU’s policy in promoting fundamental principles and rights at work and improving working conditions worldwide.

In addition, as part of the EU’s strategy on eradicating trafficking in human beings, the Commission urged EU Member States to ratify all relevant international instruments, agreements and legal obligations. This will help address trafficking in human beings in a more effective, coordinated and coherent manner. Strengthening victims' rights in the EU has also been a strategic priority of the Commission over the past few years. The horizontal Victims' Rights Directive will ensure that victims of crime benefit from common minimum standards of rights during police investigations and court proceedings. The Protocol should be seen as part of this work.

It is therefore necessary that any legal impediments at EU level to ratification of the Protocol by EU Member States be removed at EU level. The Protocol’s substance does not cause any concern in the light of the existing EU acquis.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)563: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:563:FIN

ESO: Background information: Forced labour: Commission urges EU countries to implement new ILO Protocol http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-forced-labour-commission-urges-eu-countries-to-implement-new-ilo-protocol/

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