[Federal Register: April 12, 2011 (Volume 76, Number 70)]
[Notices]               
[Page 20305-20309]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12ap11-31]                         

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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.

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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: http://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

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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.

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    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

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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