Alex Sobel, Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, and a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR), told PoliticsHome that forced labour continues to be a “very broad” issue across UK supply chains – particularly in the supply of cotton, manufactured goods, and commodities like cocoa, coffee and palm oil.
He said that the government should not sign trade agreements with countries that refuse to agree to human rights commitments.
“We’re not going to raise human rights standards if we ignore it in trade,” he said.
Starting next week, the JCHR – with members from both the Commons and the House of Lords – will start an inquiry to assess the effectiveness of the UK’s response to forced labour exploitation and its impact on UK supply chains.
“People are definitely becoming more aware of it,” Sobel said.
“Other jurisdictions, particularly the European Union, are legislating on it and the UK government as well is moving on this.”
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Sobel suggested that there has been a lack of political will in the last few years to refresh the legislation.
“On an issue like forced slavery, you need a prime minister or business secretary who are very committed and very interested in this area,” he said, pointing to former Tory prime minister Theresa May as the last example of a leader before Keir Starmer who was committed to the topic.
In Sobel’s view, the responsibility for preventing the sale of forced labour goods in the UK needs to lie with the government and businesses rather than with the consumer.