List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor
ILAB maintains a list of products (also known as List of Products Requiring Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor) and their source countries which it has a reasonable basis to believe are produced by forced or indentured child labor, pursuant to Executive Order 13126. This List is intended to ensure that U.S. federal agencies do not procure goods made by forced or indentured child labor. Under procurement regulations, federal contractors who supply products on the List must certify that they have made a good faith effort to determine whether forced or indentured child labor was used to produce the items supplied.
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The Department of Labor, in consultation with the Departments of State and Homeland Security, publishes and maintains the List. ILAB released its initial List in 2001, and has revised it several times since then. As of October 3, 2016, the EO List comprises 35 products from 26 countries.
Legal Authorities
The List is required by Executive Order 13126, "Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor." The procurement requirements related to products on the List are set out in a 2001 Federal Acquisition Regulation Final Rule.https://www.dol.gov/admin/appearance
Procedural Guidelines
ILAB develops the List using criteria and procedures established in its "Procedural Guidelines for the Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor."
The Department of Labor, in consultation with the Departments of State and Homeland Security, publishes and maintains the List. ILAB released its initial List in 2001, and has revised it several times since then. As of September 5, 2024, the EO List comprises 33 products from 25 countries.
Legal Authorities
The List is required by Executive Order 13126, "Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor." The procurement requirements related to products on the List are set out in a 2001 Federal Acquisition Regulation Final Rule.
Procedural Guidelines
ILAB develops the List using criteria and procedures established in its "Procedural Guidelines for the Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor."
DOL's mission is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States. This DOL mission is carried out by a variety of sub-agencies and offices (DOL agencies) covering domestic and international policy engagements, workforce development, enforcement, statistics, and benefits. DOL has a responsibility to protect the integrity of scientific information that is produced, communicated, and used across DOL agencies to better carry out its mission. ILAB is committed to using the highest possible scientific integrity and quality standards and practices to conduct our critical work. Scientific integrity is the adherence to professional practices, ethical behavior, and the principles of honesty and objectivity when conducting, managing, using the results of, and communicating about science and scientific activities. Inclusivity, transparency, and protection from inappropriate influence are hallmarks of scientific integrity.
| Country Sort descending | Product |
|---|---|
| South Sudan | There are reports that children, especially boys, are abducted and forced to herd cattle in South Sudan. Hundreds of abductions have been reported, particularly in communities in Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria states. The children are abducted when rival tribes or ethnic groups enter communities to steal cattle, as well as during other inter-ethnic or inter-tribal disputes; some of these children are enslaved to herd cattle. |
| Tajikistan | There are reports that children ages 14-17 and some as young as 7 are forced to work during the annual cotton harvest in Tajikistan. Monitoring teams discover multiple cases of compulsory mobilization across several districts of the country each year. In these cases, school officials mobilize classes to work in the harvest and teachers supervise them in the fields. Some children receive threats regarding exams, grades, and even expulsion from school for refusal to work. The children are typically sent to the fields after class hours. Farmers negotiate directly with the schools to mobilize the students to work, and the schools may keep some or all of the children's wages. Some of the children are required to pick a quota of 66 pounds of cotton daily. |
| Thailand | There are reports that mostly girls as young as 11 are forced to produce garments in Thailand. Migrant children from Laos and Burma are particularly vulnerable. The ILO, media, trade unions, government raids, and NGOs report forced child labor in garment factories in Bangkok and along the Burma border in Mae Sai and Mae Sot. Many children live at the worksite, and their freedom of movement is sometimes restricted through confiscation of identity documents and threats of arrest. Children are often forced to work long hours and overtime, and are paid little, if at all. Some are not provided sufficient food and are physically abused. Mistakes made during the course of work are sometimes penalized with wage deductions. |
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