Press Releases
U.S. Department of Labor releases “List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor”
Released in Phnom Penh, September 11, 2009
The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) released three reports on child labor and/or forced labor in countries around the globe on September 10th. The documents include the initial "List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor" required by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (TVPRA List).
The TVPRA List provides details on 122 goods from 58 countries that ILAB has reason to believe are produced by forced labor, child labor or both in violation of international standards. ILAB also has released a proposed update to the "List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor" (EO List) and its 8th annual "Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor" as mandated by the Trade and Development Act of 2000 on the efforts of 141 countries and territories to combat exploitive child labor.
The primary purpose of the TVPRA List is to raise public awareness about the incidence of child labor and forced labor in the production of goods in the countries listed and to promote efforts to eliminate such practices.
The report lists four items in Cambodia which are suspected of being produced through the use of child labor including bricks, shrimp, rubber and salt. The U.S. is actively engaged with the Royal Cambodian government in an effort to reduce the use of child labor in these sectors and throughout the economy. The Royal Government has made progress in this area including the development of a National Plan of Action (NPA) on the Worst Forms of Child Labor (2008-2012). The NPA aims to reduce the number of children aged 5-17 working in Cambodia to 10.6 percent in 2010 and 8 percent by 2015. It has also participated in a number of U.S. led programs designed to end the worst forms of child labor in the sectors mentioned in the report issued by the Department of Labor.
The U.S. hopes that continued cooperation in this area will eventually end the use of child labor in Cambodia and to a decrease in all forms of human trafficking and exploitation.
