Topic: 2024-Forced Labour
Country: France
Delegate Name: Michael Stefanovski
France
International Labour Organization
February, 2024
Forced Labour
France has taken many steps in the past to stop forced labour within the country, and because of policies we have imposed it has been legally eradicated in the country. Life and liberty are core foundations of France, values that shape France’s responsibility to protect the human rights of its citizens.
One of the biggest factors in modern forced labour is mass poverty. Poverty leaves people of high population and low job success rate countries in very vulnerable positions, leading to them being extorted or coerced into a position of forced labour making pennies. Even though these men and women are being paid, they are exploited with no regard to their rights or well-being.
France, as a country devoted to the liberty of its citizens, imposed a new law requiring businesses to monitor their supply chains for human rights violations. Businesses are required to publish reports outlining their employee’s activities within the company, and assessing any risks. Companies first have to take steps to ensure their employee’s rights are not being violated, and if their reports do not suffice, or they are not provided at all, they may be reported by victims. France believes that a law like this should be
Leaving businesses accountable for reporting how their employees’ rights are being respected is a direct way to identify if there is forced labour taking place in their business. Evidence being provided of employee working conditions and rights directly coming from the business is a very efficient and effective way of addressing this issue because if reports are not evidentially sufficient, legal action can and will be taken against the business.
France would like to expand this law to the rest of the UN. Forced Labour is a violation of human rights as stated in article four of the UN, so each country has their part to play in the complete abolition of it in their country. The toleration of forced labour cannot continue, and the deliberate neglect of it must be stopped. France looks forward to working with you in committee, where we can continue to debate on this topic.
