On 24 April 2013, the Rana Plaza building complex in Bangladesh collapsed, leaving over 1100 people dead and at least twice as many seriously injured. That tragedy sparked a long-overdue international debate on unconscionable working conditions, exploitation and the responsibilities of companies and governments.
Ten years after the disaster, some things have changed in Bangladesh and around the world. Some countries, such as France and Germany, have passed legislation. In Germany, the Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains has been in force since 1 January 2023. At the EU level, too, we are on the verge of adopting a corresponding directive.
However, we cannot be complacent. Around the world, 1.4 billion people still work under atrocious conditions. The number of victims of forced labour and slavery is increasing significantly. According to the latest ILO estimates, that number is now 28 million. Similarly, more and more children around the world are being forced to work, for example in the gold mines of Burkina Faso, as textile workers in Bangladesh or on cocoa plantations in Cȏte d'Ivoire. The pandemic made the situation worse. The ILO estimates that there are currently around 160 million child labourers in the world. Half of them are under twelve years old.
Until working adults receive wages that are fair and decent, forced labour and child labour will continue to exist and will even become worse. The situation is made worse by the disregard for health and safety at work and of the right to form trade unions or establish representatives for workers.
The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has therefore repeatedly put the issue high on the international agenda, using forums such as the G7 to create an international level playing field.
At the Elmau Summit in 2015, the G7 Heads of State and Government strongly affirmed their support for the UN Guiding Principles. They welcomed the development of substantive national action plans. To date, 30 countries have adopted national action plans on business and human rights. 34 others are in the process of drafting one.
In 2015, we joined together to push for corporate human rights due diligence. Since then, we have been continuously advocating for decent working conditions.
In 2022, we again used Germany's presidency of the G7 to create more binding international commitments to ensure that international standards are effectively implemented and adhered to along global value chains.
During Germany's presidency of the G7 in 2022, we succeeded in getting the G7 to commit to the need for a legally binding instrument at the international level. We were able to make this part of the G7's Wolfsburg Communiqué of the Ministers of Labour, Employment, and Social Affairs and the Elmau Summit Declaration of the Heads of State and Government. This commitment was reaffirmed under Japan's current G7 presidency in the G7 Kurashiki Labour and Employment Ministers' Declaration in April 2023. These commitments represent a strong signal of support for the ongoing efforts at the United Nations and the International Labour Organization, which are seeking or considering a legally binding instrument at the international level.