[Federal Register: October 15, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 200)]
[Notices]
[Page 61170-61171]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15oc08-135]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Bureau of International Labor Affairs; Request for Information on
Forced/Indentured Child Labor Pursuant to Executive Order 13126
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Labor.
ACTION: Request for information on forced child labor in the production
of bricks, coal, foundry products, chemicals, cotton, grape products,
toys, and fireworks in China.
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SUMMARY: This notice is a request for information to assist the
Department of Labor in conducting a review of a submission on forced
child labor in the production of bricks, coal, foundry products,
chemicals, cotton, grape products, toys, and fireworks in China. This
review is being conducted pursuant to Executive Order 13126
(``Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or
Indentured Child Labor'') and the ``Procedural Guidelines for
Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor
Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor'' at 48 CFR
Subpart 22.15.
The Department anticipates that written information regarding
forced child labor in the above products in China will aid it in
determining, in consultation with the Departments of State and Homeland
Security, whether these products, and their originating country, should
be added to the Executive Order list.
DATES: Submitters of information are requested to provide two (2)
copies of their written submission to the Office of Child Labor, Forced
Labor and Human Trafficking (OCFT) at the address below by 5 p.m.,
December 15, 2008.
To Submit Information, or for Further Information, Contact: OCFT,
Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor at
(202) 693-4843 (this is not a toll free number). Information may be
submitted by the following methods:
Facsimile (fax): OCFT at 202-693-4830.
Mail, Express Delivery, Hand Delivery, and Messenger
Service: Brandie Sasser at U.S. Department of Labor, OCFT, Bureau of
International Labor Affairs, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room S-5317,
Washington, DC 20210.
E-mail: EO13126@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Executive Order No. 13126, which was published in the Federal
Register on June 16, 1999 (64 FR 32383-32385), declared that it was
``the policy of the United States Government'' that the executive
agencies shall take appropriate actions to enforce the laws prohibiting
the manufacture or importation of good, wares articles, and merchandise
mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part by forced or
indentured child labor.'' Pursuant to the Executive Order, and
following public notice and comment, the Department of Labor published
in the January 18, 2001, Federal Register, a final list of products
(the ``List''), identified by their country of origin, that the
Department, in consultation and cooperation with the Departments of
State and Treasury [relevant responsibilities now within the Department
of Homeland Security], had a reasonable basis to believe might have
been mined, produced or manufactured with forced or indentured child
labor (66 FR 5353). In addition to the List, the Department also
published on January 18, 2001, ``Procedural Guidelines for Maintenance
of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as
to Forced or Indentured Child Labor,'' which provide for maintaining,
reviewing, and, as appropriate, revising the list of products required
by Executive Order 13126 (66 FR 5351). The List can be accessed on the
Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ilab
[[Page 61171]]
or can be obtained from: Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human
Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Room S-5317, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20210; telephone: (202) 693-4843; fax (202) 693-4830. A copy of the
Procedural Guidelines is also available from OCFT.
Pursuant to Section 3 of the Executive Order, the Federal
Acquisition Regulatory Councils published a final rule in the Federal
Register on January 18, 2001, providing that federal contractors who
supply products that appear on the List issued by the Department of
Labor must certify to the contracting officer that the contractor, or,
in the case of an incorporated contractor, a responsible official of
the contractor, has made a good faith effort to determine whether
forced or indentured child labor was used to mine, produce or
manufacture any product furnished under the contract and that, on the
basis of those efforts, the contractor is unaware of any such use of
child labor. The regulation also imposes other requirements with
respect to contracts for products on the Department of Labor's List.
See 48 CFR Subpart 22.15.
II. China Executive Order Submission
The Department of Labor accepted for review a submission under
Executive Order 13126 regarding the use of forced child labor in the
production of bricks, coal, foundry products, chemicals, cotton, grape
products, toys, and fireworks in China. Since accepting the submission
for official review, OCFT has been collecting and assessing additional
information on the topic from a variety of sources.
III. Definition of Forced/Indentured Child Labor
Under Section 6(c) of Executive Order 13126:
``Forced or indentured child labor'' means all work or service--
(1) Exacted from any person under the age of 18 under the menace of
any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker does not
offer himself voluntarily; or
(2) Performed by any person under the age of 18 pursuant to a
contract the enforcement of which can be accomplished by process or
penalties.
Information Sought
The Department is requesting information about forced child labor
in the production of bricks, coal, foundry products, chemicals, cotton,
grape products, toys, and/or fireworks in China, as well as information
on efforts made by the Government of China to address these problems.
This notice is a general solicitation of comments from the public. All
submitted comments will be made a part of the record of the review
referred to above and will be available for public inspection.
Signed at Washington, DC this 9th day of October 2008.
Marcia Eugenio,
Director, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking.
[FR Doc. E8-24410 Filed 10-14-08; 8:45 am]
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