Greenpeace USA condemns Biden administration's ranking of Taiwan in latest human trafficking report

Washington DC (June 24, 2024)– The U.S. government has again assigned Taiwan a Tier 1 ranking in the latest Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. This is the fifteenth consecutive year that Taiwan has received this distinction, despite ample evidence of the prevalence of forced labor and human trafficking in Taiwan's distant water fishing (DWF) industry. Greenpeace USA, Southeast Asian and East Asian organizations, and several human rights and labor groups have repeatedly called on the United States to downgrade Taiwan to Tier 2 due to these ongoing issues. [1].

Charli Fritzner, team leader of Greenpeace USA's Beyond Seafood project, said: “The U.S. government's decision to maintain Taiwan at Tier 1 status, despite serious labor and human rights violations in Taiwan's deep-sea fishing industry, demonstrates a worrying tolerance for of these practices. This classification allows the industry to continue its harmful practices without accountability, endangering the lives of workers on a daily basis. Worse, it provides little incentive or pressure for the changes needed to improve conditions for workers. »

Recent investigations by Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Greenpeace East Asia and others have revealed widespread human rights abuses and forced labor within the global supply chain of food products. The sea. These reported abuses include withholding of wages, excessive working hours, lack of sleep, limited access to medical care, physical injuries, confiscation of personal identity documents, inadequate food, psychological abuse and sexual and lack of access to external communications such as Wi-Fi. Taiwan has one of the largest distant water fishing fleets (DWF) in the world, with more than 2,000 vessels operating in all major oceans .

The Da Wang, a Taiwanese ship that U.S. Customs and Border Protection says used forced labor, was behind a can of Bumble Bee tuna sold in U.S. supermarkets in 2022, study finds from Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace East Asia.

Fritzner continues: “As one of the world's largest consumers of seafood, the United States has considerable influence over the seafood industry. However, by continuing to assign Taiwan, a major offender , a Level 1 ranking, it fails to make the case for meaningful change. If the Biden administration is serious about protecting workers and keeping seafood free from modern slavery, it must comprehensively address human rights abuses in the DWF industry now.

Workers in Taiwan’s DWF sector have little recourse. Greenpeace East Asia and other observers have called on Taiwan's government to improve, including implementing mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence obligations for businesses and implementing establishes effective grievance mechanisms at sea and in ports, aligned with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP). , enabling migrant fishermen to safely report labor violations and receive timely remedies.

In comments submitted to the State Department ahead of the TIP filing, Greenpeace USA and GLJ-ILRF expressed concern that the Taiwan Fisheries Agency's (FA) Advice and Protection Hotline for foreign workers does not adequately meet the basic needs of workers. [2]. The organizations have documented several cases in which fishermen were allegedly subject to retaliation for raising grievances.

Civil society, human rights groups and labor organizations are also calling for immediate reforms to address the root causes of labor and human rights violations in Taiwan's manufacturing industry. DWF. These include respecting the rights of migrant workers to freedom of association and collective bargaining, ensuring access to Wi-Fi on ships, eliminating discriminatory employment programs, transferring management of migrant fishermen in the Ministry of Labor and ensure coverage by the Labor Standards Act and other national labor legislation.

Yuton Lee, Greenpeace East Asia Oceans Campaigner, said: “We hope that the Taiwanese government recognizes the gaps between international human rights and labor rights standards and current laws and practices in Taiwan's deep-sea fisheries, and will give priority to reducing these gaps. Instead of rejoicing in an undeserved Tier 1 ranking, the Taiwanese government should focus on real efforts, including the adoption of ILO C-188, to address and rectify widespread human rights violations. the man and the work that he was complicit in allowing to fester.

Despite the slow progress in resolving these issues, the Taiwan Fisheries Agency (TFA) responded quickly to the release of the documentary edit”Before eating» by falsely claiming that “Greenpeace edited images of Taiwanese fishing vessels” to make Taiwan-flagged vessels appear guilty of the events it documented. The documentary, produced by the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI) with support from Greenpeace Southeast Asia – Indonesia, shares the testimonies of several alleged victims of forced labor and human trafficking in the global migrant industry. sea ​​products.

Arifsyah Nasution, Beyond Seafood Global Campaign Manager, Greenpeace Southeast Asiasaid: “We suggest that the Taiwan Fisheries Agency prioritize the human rights of fishermen and mitigating the environmental impact of Taiwan's high seas fleet rather than silencing international debate on this crucial issue. More broadly, given that the nature of the seafood supply chain is inherently global, we call on governments across the supply chain to address the lack of transparency, accountability and due diligence in this industry. It is essential that governments and market actors take concrete steps to defend labor rights and environmental protection.

###

Notes to editors

[1] Previous calls for Taiwan to be downgraded to Tier 2:

www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/state-department-report-underplays-taiwans-abuse-of-migrant-fishers (2020)

www.greenpeace.org/usa/research/comments-concerning-the-ranking-of-taiwan-by-the-us-department-of-state-in-the-2021-trafficking-in-persons-report (2021)

www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/greenpeace-usa-slams-biden-administrations-failure-to-downgrade-taiwan-in-latest-trafficking-in-persons-report (2022)

www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/92200 (2023)

[2] Comments submitted to the Department of State on behalf of the Seafood Working Group, which includes Global Labor Justice and Greenpeace USA

Contact: Tanya Brooks, Senior Communications Specialist, Greenpeace USA, P: 703-342-9226, E: [email protected]

Greenpeace United States is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental issues and promote solutions essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country's unjust social, environmental, and economic systems.