Publications

Sufficient Progress Not Made to Warrant Tier 2 Ranking for Thailand in TIP Report 2020

Publication Date: 

July 30, 2020

The Seafood Working Group, a global coalition of labor, human rights, and environmental non-governmental organizations, recommended that Thailand be downgraded to ‘Tier 2 Watch List’ since it does not fully meet the minimum standards set forth in the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 and did not make sufficient progress to address trafficking in persons in 2019. The Working Group’s report relied on consultations with frontline worker organizations and documented 23 potential labor trafficking cases.

Tashkent’s Reforms Have Not Yet Reached Us” - Unfinished Work in the Fight Against Forced Labor in Uzbekistan’s 2019 Cotton Harvest

Publication Date: 

June 23, 2020

A new report released today by Uzbek Forum for Human Rights (formerly Uzbek-German Forum / UGF) on the 2019 cotton harvest in Uzbekistan documents both meaningful progress toward ending forced labor and the persistence of government-organized forced labor, said the Cotton Campaign.

Fyffes Farms Exposed: The Fight for Justice in the Honduran Melon Fields

Publication Date: 

April 21, 2020

Thousands of miles away from U.S. supermarket shelves, the melon workers of southern Honduras are standing up to a global fruit giant that has long used their labor but never respected their rights.

Fyffes is the billion-dollar fruit company that most Americans have never heard of. They are the top importer of melons to the United States, which are sold in supermarkets across the country. They are also the number one supplier of bananas into Europe.

Time for a Sea Change: Why union rights for migrant workers are needed to prevent forced labor in the Thai seafood industry

Publication Date: 

March 19, 2020

Trade union rights are central to preventing forced labor. Industries with strong trade union representation have lower levels of labor abuse, child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. In Thailand, where migrant workers are legally barred from forming their own unions, labor abuse and exploitation are endemic to the country’s migrant-dominated labor sectors, such as seafood processing and fishing.

Comments Concerning Ranking of Thailand by U.S. Department of State in 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report

Publication Date: 

March 10, 2020

In 2019, the Government of Thailand amended and enacted laws and policies to bring Thai law in compliance with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labor Convention (P29) and ILO Convention on Work in Fishing (C188). While the policy changes are welcomed by the Seafood Working Group (SWG) coalition members, there has been little actual change on the ground. Even with the legal improvements made over the past year, Thai workers and migrant workers are still vulnerable to forced labor and human trafficking.

Comments on Ranking of Turkmenistan by U.S. Dept of State in 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report

Publication Date: 

February 28, 2020

The Cotton Campaign strongly recommends that the Department of State continues to issue a Tier 3 ranking to Turkmenistan, as the government continues to deny that it uses forced labor in cotton harvesting and has made no efforts to address or combat the drivers of systematic, government-sponsored forced labor. 

Comments on Ranking of Uzbekistan by U.S. Dept of State in 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report

Publication Date: 

February 28, 2020

Over the last year, significant developments have taken place in Uzbekistan with regard to forced labor in the cotton sector and the government’s reform process. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has led his government in a vital shift in tone and substance to end forced labor in the cotton sector, making strong public commitments, enacting several key reforms, and increasing accountability measures.

Combatting Forced Labor and Enforcing Workers’ Rights Using the Tariff Act

Publication Date: 

February 25, 2020

The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 25 million people are living in forced labor situations. An estimated $150 billion dollars in profits a year are generated off the backs of the men, women, and children who are forced to work. The trafficking of men and boys into the seafood industry is well documented. Recent reports revealed mounting evidence of the system of forced labor in camps in Xinjiang, China.  Meanwhile, in Malawi's tobacco and Indonesia's palm oil sectors, families are trafficked across their country only to be trapped in debt bondage.

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