Ratifying Convention No.29 is a priority
China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has said the ratification of ILO Convention No.29 concerning forced labour “is the priority among priorities.”
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The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) and the ILO organized an inter-ministerial tripartite workshop on the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29) and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) in Beijing on 29-30 April 2014. The workshop was attended by representatives from the State Council Legislative Affairs Office, several MOHRSS Departments and Institutes, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), the China Enterprise Confederation (CEC) and the All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF).
Main focus of the workshop was on exploring prospects for ratification of ILO forced labour Conventions No. 29 and No. 105 by China. Ms Beate Andrees, Head of the ILO Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour (SAP-FL), Geneva, also joined the workshop to introduce measures currently proposed to supplement the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29). Next month, the International Labour Conference will consider a draft Protocol and a draft Recommendation aimed at preventing forced labour as well strengthening the protection of victims of forced labour.
The workshop involved contributions by representatives of participating Ministries and organizations, as well as active exchange of views between the participants and the ILO experts. Based on these discussions, Mr Dai Xiaochu, Deputy Director General of the International Department of the MOHRSS, noted that there are no big legal barriers for ratification of forced labour Conventions by China. He concluded the workshop by noting that "the ratification of Convention No.29 is the priority among priorities”. Ms Guan Jinghe, Deputy Director of ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia, commended the Chinese Government for its political commitment to fight forced labour and also thanked the ACFTU and the CEC for their support towards the ratification. Mr. De Meyer, the Director of ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia, mentioned that only 8 countries had not yet ratified C. 29, illustrating a growing global awareness and commitment to root out forced labour reaching well beyond traditional workplaces into investor boardrooms, financial markets, consumer mind-sets and, in fact, everyone concerned with economic growth.
The workshop was one of the project activities of the Forced Labour Action in the Asian Region (FLARE project).
For more information:
AP-Forced Labour NetStrengthening action to end forced labour
Forced Labour Indicators (Chinese)