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(1) As recognised in the Preamble to the 2014 Protocol to Convention No 29 on forced labour (ILO Convention No 29) of the International Labour Organization (ILO), forced labour constitutes a serious violation of human dignity and fundamental human rights, contributes to the perpetuation of poverty and stands in the way of the achievement of decent work for all. The ILO declared the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour as a principle of fundamental rights. The ILO classifies ILO Convention No 29, including the supplementing 2014 Protocol to Convention No 29 and the ILO Convention No 105 on the abolition of forced labour (ILO Convention No 105) as fundamental ILO conventions and issues recommendations to prevent, eliminate, and remedy forced labour, such as the Forced Labour (Supplementary Measures) Recommendation No 203. The ILO has developed several indicators used to identify and indicate cases of forced labour, such as threats and actual physical and sexual harm, abuse of vulnerability, abuse of working and living conditions and excessive overtime, deception, restriction of movement or confinement to the workplace or a limited area, isolation, debt bondages, withholding wages or excessive wage reduction, retention of passports and identity documents or threat of denunciation to the authorities when the worker has an irregular immigration status. Forced labour is very often linked to poverty and discrimination. The manipulation of credit and debt, either by employers or by recruiting agents, is still a key factor that traps vulnerable workers in forced labour situations. According to the ILO supervisory bodies, prison labour, including where it is performed for private companies, does not in itself constitute forced labour, provided that it is done on a voluntary basis, for the benefit of the prisoner and is comparable to the conditions of a free labour relationship. Community work as an alternative penal sanction to imprisonment should always be in the public interest and should, under no circumstances, be abused by states as a means to degrade the convicted person or deprive that person of their dignity. In cases in which work or service is imposed by exploiting the worker’s vulnerability under the threat of a penalty, that threat does not need to take the form of a penal sanction but might take the form of a loss of rights or benefits.

(2) The use of forced labour is widespread in the world. It is estimated that about 27,6 million people were in situations of forced labour in 2021. Vulnerable and marginalised groups in society are particularly susceptible to being pressured into performing forced labour. Such groups include women, children, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, lower casters, indigenous and tribal people, and migrants, especially undocumented migrants, who have a precarious status and operate in the informal economy. Even when it is not state imposed, forced labour is often a consequence of the absence or lack of good governance with regard to certain economic operators and a demonstration of a state’s failure to enforce social and labour rights, particularly for vulnerable and marginalised groups. Forced labour can also take place as a result of authorities’ tacit consent

86 % of all forced labour cases occur in the private sector, in particular through the forced labour exploitation of 17,3 million people. The obligations of economic operators set out in this Regulation should be predictable and clear in order to ensure full and effective compliance and contribute to bringing forced labour to an end.

(3) The eradication of forced labour in all its forms, including state imposed forced labour, is a priority for the Union. Respect for human dignity and the universality and indivisibility of human rights are firmly enshrined in Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). In order to achieve Target 8.7 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the Union should uphold and promote its values and contribute to the protection of human rights, in particular the rights of the child. Article 5 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the ‘Charter’) explicitly prohibits slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and trafficking in human beings, and Article 4 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms provides that no one is to be required to perform forced or compulsory labour. The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly interpreted Article 4 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as requiring Member States to penalise and effectively prosecute any act maintaining a person in the situations set out in that Article. The right to effective remedies for violations of fundamental rights is a human right, and a fundamental element in the process of effective prosecution of crimes. Existing Union law, the United Nations Guiding Principles on the Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the Council of Europe recommendation on human rights and business and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines, such as the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, affirm that victims have the right to an effective remedy for business-related human rights violations or abuses, including forced labour.

(4) All Member States have ratified the fundamental ILO conventions in the area of forced labour, namely ILO Convention No 29 and ILO Convention No 105, and ILO Convention No 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour (ILO Convention No 182). They are therefore legally obliged to prevent and eliminate the use of forced labour and to report regularly to the ILO.

(5) Through its policies and legislative initiatives, the Union seeks to eradicate the use of forced labour and promote decent work and labour rights worldwide. The Union promotes due diligence in line with international guidelines and principles established by international organisations, including the ILO, the OECD and the United Nations, to ensure that forced labour does not have a place in the supply chains of undertakings established in the Union.

(6) Union trade policy supports the fight against forced labour in both unilateral and bilateral trade relationships. The trade and sustainable development chapters of Union trade agreements contain a commitment to ratify and effectively implement the fundamental ILO conventions, which include ILO Convention No 29 and ILO Convention No 105, whereas trade and gender provisions establish a gender lens that is essential for the economic empowerment of women in order to combat gendered forced labour. Moreover, unilateral tariff preferences under the Union’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences may be withdrawn for serious and systematic violations of ILO Convention No 29 and ILO Convention No 105.

(7) Forced labour has a distinct impact on vulnerable and marginalised groups, such as children, women, migrants, refugees or indigenous peoples, and therefore an intersectional and gender-sensitive approach is essential to combat forced labour effectively. This Regulation is therefore expected to contribute to the objectives of relevant international agreements and conventions, such as ILO Convention No 182, the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, the Beijing Declaration of September 1995, the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention No 169 on indigenous and tribal peoples.

(8) Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council harmonises the definition of trafficking in human beings, including forced labour or services, and establishes rules on minimum penalties. Any rules laid down concerning the prohibition of placing and making available on the Union market domestic or imported products made with forced labour, or exporting such products, and the obligation to ensure that such products are withdrawn from the Union market (prohibition of products made with forced labour), should be without prejudice to that Directive, and in particular to the competence of law enforcement and judicial authorities to investigate and prosecute offences related to trafficking in human beings, including labour exploitation.

(9) Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council requires Union importers of minerals or metals falling under the scope of that Regulation to carry out due diligence obligations consistent with Annex II to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, and the due diligence recommendations set out therein. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council contains obligations for economic operators to carry out due diligence in their supply chains, including with respect to labour rights. Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council requires due diligence regarding certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation, including with respect to human rights.

(10) Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council requires Member States to ensure that certain economic operators annually publish non-financial statements in which they report on the impact of their activity on environmental, social and employee matters and on respect for human rights, including on forced labour, anti-corruption and bribery matters. Furthermore, Directive (EU) 2022/2464 of the European Parliament and of the Council on corporate sustainability reporting amended that requirement by introducing detailed reporting requirements for companies falling within the scope of that Directive regarding respect for human rights, including in global supply chains. The information that undertakings disclose about human rights should include, where relevant, information about forced labour in their value chains.

(11) As a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Union is committed to promoting a rules-based, open, multilateral trading system. Any measures introduced by the Union that affect trade should be WTO compliant.