Consultative Group To Eliminate the Use of Child Labor and Forced Labor in Imported Agricultural Products, 20305-20309 [2011-8587]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Foreign Agricultural Service

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 12, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20305-20309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-8587]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Foreign Agricultural Service


Consultative Group To Eliminate the Use of Child Labor and Forced 
Labor in Imported Agricultural Products

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA.

ACTION: Request for Comment on Guidelines for Eliminating Child and 
Forced Labor in Agricultural Supply Chains.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Department of Agriculture

[[Page 20306]]

(USDA) invites public comment on the guidelines included at the end of 
this notice for a voluntary initiative to enable entities to reduce the 
likelihood that agricultural products or commodities imported into the 
United States are produced by forced labor or child labor. In addition 
to accepting written comments, USDA will be holding a public meeting of 
the Consultative Group to Eliminate the Use of Child Labor and Forced 
Labor in Imported Agricultural Products (Consultative Group) on May 12, 
2011 to hear oral comments on the guidelines.
    The Notice sets forth the guidelines, as well as the process for 
submitting written comments and for requesting to appear at the public 
meeting. Issuance of these guidelines and creation of the Consultative 
Group were provided for in The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 
2008 (the Act), also known as the 2008 Farm Bill.

DATES: 
     April 29, 2011--Due date for submission of requests to 
make an oral statement at the Public Meeting. (See Requirements for 
Submissions and Meeting Procedures below.)
     May 6, 2011--Due date to notify intention to attend the 
Public Meeting without making a statement or to request special 
accommodations.
     May 12, 2011--Public Meeting of Consultative Group to 
Eliminate the Use of Child Labor and Forced Labor in Imported 
Agricultural Products, Room 104-A, Jamie L. Whitten Building, 12th and 
Jefferson Drive, SW., Washington, DC 20250, beginning at 8:30 a.m.
     July 11, 2011--Final date for submission of written 
statements.

ADDRESSES: You may make written submissions by any of the following 
methods: by mail to the Office of Agreements and Scientific Affairs, 
Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Stop 
1040, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250; by hand 
(including DHL, FedEx, UPS, etc.) to the Office of Agreements and 
Scientific Affairs, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Room 4133-S, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 
20250; by e-mail to: Steffon.Brown@fas.usda.gov; or by fax to (202) 
720-0340.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Office of Agreements and 
Scientific Affairs by phone on (202) 720-6219; by email addressed to 
Steffon.Brown@fas.usda.gov; or by mail addressed to the Office of 
Agreements and Scientific Affairs, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, Stop 1040, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., 
Washington, DC 20250.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3205 of the Food, Conservation, and 
Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill, Public Law 110-246) created the 
Consultative Group to Eliminate the Use of Child Labor and Forced Labor 
in Imported Agricultural Products (Consultative Group) to develop 
recommendations relating to a standard set of practices for 
independent, third-party monitoring and verification for the 
production, processing, and distribution of agricultural products or 
commodities to reduce the likelihood that agricultural products or 
commodities imported into the United States are produced with the use 
of forced labor or child labor. As required by the statute, the 
Consultative Group is made up of officials from the Departments of 
Agriculture, Labor and State as well as representatives of agricultural 
enterprises, non-governmental organizations, academic and research 
institutions and a third party certification body. Within one year 
after receiving the Consultative Group's recommendations, the Secretary 
of Agriculture is required to release guidelines for a voluntary 
initiative to enable entities to address issues raised by the 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.). 
These guidelines must be published in the Federal Register and made 
available for public comment for a period of 90 days. The Consultative 
Group will terminate on December 31, 2012.
    On December 21, 2010, the Consultative Group presented its 
recommendations to Secretary Vilsack. On January 31, 2011, USDA 
reported the recommendations to Congress. They are now available on 
USDA's Web site at the following URL: https://www.fas.usda.gov/info/Child_labor/Childlabor.asp. The Secretary has elected to issue 
guidelines based on the Consultative Group's recommendations without 
change. Those guidelines are reproduced at the end of this notice.
    As there are a wide variety of circumstances and relationships in 
commercial systems in the agricultural sector, the Guidelines focus on 
essential elements for credible, up-to-date monitoring and verification 
systems rather than prescribing specific detailed steps for all 
companies to use. There are many ways companies and other entities 
could implement these guidelines to fit their specific circumstances, 
and the methods which are suggested in the text are certainly not 
exhaustive. USDA hopes that these guidelines will serve to advance the 
cause of eliminating the use of forced labor and the worst forms of 
child labor in agricultural supply chains. We are interested to receive 
comments and particularly to engage interested parties in further 
discussions on ways these guidelines might be used.
    Following are some questions to help respondents in framing their 
comments:
    (a) How do the guidelines compare to current practices of 
companies, industry groups, and certification/accreditation 
organizations that are interested in making use of these guidelines? 
What challenges do you see for incorporating the guidelines into 
existing or new programs? Are there additional market-based incentives 
or government actions that would help in overcoming these challenges?
    (b) Are there areas of the guidelines that need to be more fully 
developed in order to: (1) Make them useful for a particular industry; 
(2) increase public confidence in the integrity of programs that 
utilize the guidelines or (3) adequately address victim protection 
concerns?
    (c) What additional steps by the U.S. Government would be helpful 
to aid entities in adopting and implementing the guidelines?

Requirements for Written Comment Submissions

    Written submissions in response to this notice must be made in 
English and should not exceed 30 single-spaced standard letter-size 
pages in 12-point type, including attachments. Comments may be 
submitted by any of the methods described in the ADDRESSES section of 
this notice, but should be submitted no later than July 11, 2011. All 
comments will be posted on the FAS Web site.

Requirements for Participation in the Public Meeting

    By April 29, 2011, all interested parties wishing to make an oral 
statement at the public meeting must submit the name, address, 
telephone number, facsimile number and e-mail address of the 
attendee(s) representing their organization by e-mail to: 
Steffon.Brown@fas.usda.gov. Requests to present oral statements must be 
accompanied by a written statement which, at a minimum, identifies key 
issues to be addressed in the oral statement. Depending on the number 
of identified participants, oral statements before the Consultative 
Group may be subject to time limits in order to accommodate all 
participants. The meeting will be open to the public and all 
submissions will be posted on the FAS Web site. USDA is a controlled 
access facility. Therefore, individuals who wish to attend the meeting 
without

[[Page 20307]]

making a statement must also register with the Consultative Group so 
that arrangements can be made for them to be allowed to enter the 
facility. Persons who wish to register or to request special 
accommodations for a disability or other reasons must submit a 
notification by e-mail to: Steffon.Brown@fas.usda.gov by May 6, 2011. 
No electronic media coverage will be allowed. Press inquiries should be 
directed to the USDA Office of Communications at (202) 720-4623.

Guidelines

    The following program elements should be part of any program 
intended to reduce the likelihood that imported agricultural products 
are produced with the use of forced labor or child labor. Section I. 
below provides relevant definitions for the guidelines that follow; 
section II outlines the elements that should be included in company 
programs; and section III describes the role of independent third-party 
reviewers.

I. Definitions

    Given the variety of existing programs and the varying use of terms 
from one to another, the Group agreed on the following operating 
definitions for its recommended program:
    Agricultural Products--Goods in chapters 1-24 of the Harmonized 
System, other than fish, as well as a few additional products outside 
of those chapters, including raw cotton, raw wool, hides, skins, 
proteins, and essential oils.
    Child Labor--The worst forms of child labor as defined in ILO 
Convention 182, the Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate 
Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor.
    Company--An entity involved in the production, processing and 
distribution of agricultural products or commodities; or an entity 
which uses such products or commodities as inputs into further 
processed goods.
    Forced Labor--All work or service that is exacted from any 
individual under menace of any penalty for nonperformance of the work 
or service, and for which the work or service is not offered 
voluntarily; or the work or service is performed as a result of 
coercion, debt bondage, or involuntary servitude (as those terms are 
defined in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 
2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102); and by 1 or more individuals who, at the time of 
performing the work or service, were being subjected to a severe form 
of trafficking in persons (as that term is defined in that section).
    Independent Third Party Monitoring--Process of evaluating the 
implementation of standards on child labor and forced labor by a 
company's supplier(s) through announced and unannounced audits 
conducted on randomly selected suppliers carried out by independent 
monitors.
    Producer--Source(s) of raw agricultural materials used by 
companies; could be individual farms or groups of farms organized into 
an association or cooperative.
    Remediation--Activities or systems that a company puts in place to 
address non-compliance with the child labor and forced labor standards 
identified through monitoring and/or verification. The remedies may 
apply to individuals adversely affected by the non-compliant conduct or 
to address broader systematic processes and/or those of its suppliers.
    Supplier--Any organization or individual in the supply chain of a 
particular agricultural product or commodity.
    Supply Chain--All organizations and individuals involved in 
producing, processing, and/or distributing an agricultural product or 
commodity from its point of origin to the company.
    Verification--Process by which a company is evaluated to determine 
compliance with its documented program, including standards on child 
labor and forced labor. Includes an evaluation of (1) data gathered 
through monitoring activities to ensure results are reliable and 
process is credible; and (2) the system established to remediate 
violations to determine if remediation is implemented and effective.
    Violation--An instance where the use of child labor and/or forced 
labor has been identified and/or non-compliance with the company's 
standards on child labor and forced labor.

II. Company Program Elements

    Company programs should include the elements outlined below. Once a 
company has implemented its program, it should seek independent third-
party monitoring and verification in accordance with section III.
    Company programs should be based upon management systems, capable 
of supporting and demonstrating consistent achievement of the elements 
outlined below. Companies can find information on the requirements for 
such systems in recognized ISO Standards, such as ISO 17021, ISO Guide 
65, ISO 9001, and ISO 19011, or other relevant standards. These 
standards cover issues such as, impartiality and confidentiality, 
documentation and record control, management reviews, personnel 
qualification criteria, audit procedures, appeals, and complaints.
    Additionally, companies adopting the Guidelines are expected to 
engage with governments, international organizations, and/or local 
communities to promote the provision of social safety nets that prevent 
child and forced labor and provide services to victims and persons at 
risk. Companies may also carry out activities that may not be included 
in these Guidelines but would nonetheless help them achieve their goal 
of reducing the likelihood of child labor and forced labor in their 
supply chains. For example, companies may choose to partner with other 
companies in their industry to share standards, tools, audit reports, 
or to pool remediation resources for greater potential impact.
A. Foundation Elements
1. Standards on Child Labor and Forced Labor
    a. Standards should meet or exceed ILO standards as summarized 
below:
    i. No person shall be involved in the worst forms of child labor, 
which include child slavery; sale/trafficking of children; debt 
bondage; serfdom; forced/compulsory labor; child soldering; all forms 
of commercial sexual exploitation; use of children in illicit 
activities; and work which harms the health, safety or morals of 
children. For purposes of this definition, a child is anyone under the 
age of 18.
    ii. No person shall be subjected to work or service exacted under 
the menace of any penalty and for which the person has not offered 
himself voluntarily.
    iii. No person shall be subjected to work imposed as a means of 
political coercion or education; as a punishment for holding or 
expressing political views; as a method of mobilizing labor for 
economic development; as a means of labor discipline; as a punishment 
for participation in strikes; or as a means of racial, social, national 
or religious discrimination.
    b. Where national laws on child labor are equal to or more 
stringent than ILO standards, company standards should meet or exceed 
national laws.
    c. Standards may be articulated through a variety of means, such as 
codes of conduct, multi-stakeholder codes in which the company 
participates, labor/human rights policies, collective bargaining 
agreements, framework agreements and others.
    d. Standards should be made available to the public.

[[Page 20308]]

    e. Company may choose to set additional standards relevant to its 
operations, such as standards on non-working children accompanying 
parents to worksites or treatment of foreign contract workers.
2. Supply Chain Mapping and Risk Assessment
    a. Company should map its supply chain(s), beginning with the 
producer.
    b. Company should identify areas of child/forced labor risk along 
chains; this may be done by:
    i. Collecting available information on child/forced labor 
prevalence in industry in areas where product is sourced.
    ii. Consulting with local stakeholders on social, economic and 
cultural factors, crop cycles, migration patterns, labor recruitment 
practices, access to judicial systems and processes, government 
policies and policy gaps, producer financial exposure, and any other 
relevant issues.
    iii. Examining impact of company's own pricing and procurement 
policies on child/forced labor risks.
    c. Company should focus its program efforts (Monitoring, Continuous 
Improvement and Accountability) on those areas identified to be most at 
risk for child and/or forced labor.
    d. Company should update its risk assessment periodically based on 
experience operating its program.
    e. Companies should implement systems to trace commodities to the 
producer level where feasible.
B. Communications and Monitoring
1. Communications
    a. Company should communicate child labor and forced labor 
standards, rights, expectations, monitoring and verification programs, 
remediation policies, and complaint process and process for redress to:
    i. Suppliers through training for managers, supervisors and other 
staff.
    ii. Workers (including unions where they exist) and producers.
    iii. Other levels of supply chain as appropriate (traders, 
middlemen, processors, exporters).
    iv. Civil society groups and other relevant stakeholders in the 
country/geographic locations of sourcing.
    b. Company should ensure that a safe and accessible channel is 
available to workers and other stakeholders to lodge complaints, 
including through independent monitors or verifiers. Company should 
also ensure that a transparent and accessible communications protocol 
is in place to notify victims and other affected stakeholders of 
complaints received and outcomes, with appropriate safeguards to 
protect victim's privacy.
    c. All communications should include regular consultation as well 
as clear channels for reporting of immediate issues, and be conducted 
in a language(s) and manner that is understood by workers.
2. Monitoring
    a. Company should develop monitoring tools based on its standards 
on child labor and forced labor (see Section II.A.).
    b. Company may have internal staff of auditors and/or hire a 
credible organization to carry out monitoring activities.
    c. Auditors should be competent, should have knowledge of local 
contexts and languages, and should have the skills and knowledge 
appropriate for evaluating and responding to child and forced labor 
situations.
    d. First round of monitoring should be used to establish baseline 
data on incidence of child/forced labor throughout the company's supply 
chain.
    e. Monitoring should occur on a continuous basis, as well as in 
response to any whistleblower allegations, with special emphasis on 
those areas identified to be most at risk.
    f. Monitoring results should be tracked and updated to identify 
trends and persistent challenges.
    g. Monitors should check that suppliers are maintaining appropriate 
traceability documentation.
    h. When violations found, company should remediate (see Section 
II.C.1.).
C. Continuous Improvement and Accountability
1. Remediation
    a. In consultation with relevant stakeholders, company should 
develop and put in place a remediation policy/plan that addresses 
remediation for individual victims as well as remediation of broader 
patterns of non-compliance caused by deficiencies in the company's and/
or suppliers' systems and/or processes.
    b. Company remediation plan should take into consideration all 
findings reported by independent third party monitors and verifiers.
    c. Remediation for individual victims:
    i. Should include protocols for appropriate immediate actions, such 
as referral to law enforcement or appropriate authorities in cases 
where, auditors discover specific violations of applicable child or 
forced labor laws.
    ii. Should also include resources for victim services such as 
rehabilitation, education and training, employment, appropriate 
housing, counseling, restitution for lost wages and other material 
assistance.
    d. Remediation of company's and/or suppliers' systems and 
processes:
    i. Should include working with suppliers in situations where non-
compliance with child labor and/or forced labor standards have been 
found to develop and implement systems to correct these violations and 
to build systems aimed at reducing child and/or forced labor on a 
systematic basis.
    ii. Could include provision of technical assistance to help 
suppliers with known violations to address specific issues; can also 
include technical assistance on broader labor issues that underlie 
child/forced labor (e.g. workplace cooperation, quality assurance, 
health and safety, productivity, working conditions, and human resource 
management).
    iii. Could include positive incentives for suppliers in appropriate 
cases such as creation of a preferred suppliers list, a price premium, 
purchase guarantees, access to financing, inclusion in national or 
country of origin trade promotion/registries, and/or regular public 
reporting that rewards compliance.
    iv. Could include negative incentives in cases where suppliers have 
performed poorly and have had repeated non-compliance with company 
child and/or forced labor standards. The negative incentives may 
include termination, suspension or reduction of contracts. These steps 
should only be taken after other remediation and engagement efforts 
have been explored and failed to achieve the desired results.
2. Internal Process Review
    a. Company should periodically check its own progress against its 
program goals including determining the effectiveness of its program to 
reduce the overall incidence of child labor or forced labor in its 
supply chain.
    b. Company should address areas where goals have not been met.
    c. Where remediation has been undertaken, company should confirm 
that remediation has been implemented and is effective.
    d. Company should make information available to the public on its 
monitoring program and process to remediate/improve performance;

III. Independent Third-Party Review

    Companies developing programs in accordance with the Guidelines 
should seek independent, third party review of their program 
implementation. Independent review assures the

[[Page 20309]]

company's customers that the company is meeting the standards on child 
labor and forced labor and relevant requirements outlined within its 
own program. There are two possible methods of conducting independent 
review. The independent third-party monitoring model utilizes 
independent external monitoring organizations and monitors to evaluate 
conditions at the facilities of the company and its suppliers. The 
independent third-party verification model utilizes accredited 
certification bodies to verify the company's ability to implement and 
maintain a program that ensures its suppliers meet its standards on 
child labor and forced labor. There are advantages and disadvantages 
with each of these models. For example:

--Independent third-party monitoring may include unannounced and 
announced on-site visits to evaluate a company's suppliers to determine 
compliance with child labor and forced labor standards. The monitor 
identifies violations of child labor and forced labor when observed. 
However, independent third-party monitoring will not necessarily 
include an evaluation of the company's entire documented program.
--Independent third-party verification includes an evaluation of the 
company's entire documented program to determine compliance to the 
program as well as to the standards for child labor and forced labor. 
It includes witnessing the company evaluating its suppliers. The 
verifier does not conduct independent evaluations of suppliers. 
However, the verifier does identify violations of child labor and 
forced labor when observed.

    Companies may choose whichever model is most appropriate for their 
circumstances; however, a comprehensive program should include a 
combination of the two models. It should be noted that, while these 
review methods can verify that companies have robust systems in place 
to reduce the likelihood that child or forced labor is being used in 
their supply chains, neither model guarantees the absence of child or 
forced labor. Key elements of the two models are described below:
A. Independent Third Party Monitoring
    1. Monitors should be accredited to conduct independent, third 
party monitoring. Monitors should have expertise on labor standards and 
possess knowledge of local workplace conditions and prevailing industry 
practices. Monitors should have experience and demonstrate competence 
in the execution of onsite evaluations of labor standards compliance in 
an agricultural setting.
    2. Independent monitoring should be conducted by an entity external 
to the company and should demonstrate independence and impartiality as 
a precondition for participating in the monitoring process.
    3. Monitoring should consist of on-site visits to a representative 
sample of farms and/or agricultural worksites and should occur on a 
continuous basis focusing on times of higher risk of use of child labor 
and/or forced labor in order to determine if child labor and forced 
labor standards are being respected and enforced. Unannounced visits 
are necessary to carry out this function fully. Announced visits may 
also be useful when it is necessary to have access to specific 
personnel or documentation.
    4. Suppliers should be randomly selected. However, such selection 
should focus on suppliers that are identified to be at most risk.
    5. Monitors should provide the company (ies) with a report 
outlining the findings and may make recommendations for remediation 
measures a company should take to address any incidences where the 
supplier did not implement the company's standards on child labor and/
or forced labor.
B. Independent Third Party Verification
    1. Verifiers should be accredited certification bodies, complying 
with either ISO/IEC 17021:2006 or ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996 or other 
relevant systems. ISO/IEC 17021 contains principles and requirements 
for the competence, consistency, and impartiality of an audit and the 
certification of management systems of all types and for bodies 
providing these activities. ISO/IEC Guide 65 contains the general 
requirements that a third party operating a product or service 
certification system shall meet in order to be recognized as competent 
and reliable. Verifiers should have qualified and competent personnel 
with the appropriate skills and knowledge in child labor and forced 
labor standards.
    2. Third Party verification should be conducted at least annually.
    3. Audits should include testing of audit data to confirm that 
company data systems are reliable.
    4. Audits should include witness audits where the Verifier observes 
the company's monitoring activities.
    5. Announced audits are important when it is necessary to have 
access to specific personnel or documentation. Unannounced audits may 
also be useful in verifying that company policies are being implemented 
appropriately. Verifiers should provide the company with a report 
identifying weaknesses found in the company's program and program 
implementation.
    6. Verifiers should require the company to implement remediation 
measures to address the weaknesses, and these remediation efforts 
should then be audited to confirm that they were implemented and 
effective.
    7. Verifiers should approve companies whose programs and program 
implementation are found to be in conformance to the requirements of 
the Guidelines.
    8. Each verifier auditing companies to the Guidelines should 
provide the public a list of companies under review, approved, 
suspended, and/or withdrawn.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on April 4th, 2011.
John D. Brewer,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-8587 Filed 4-11-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-10-P