Today I met with Alex Thier, the Chief Executive of the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, and we discussed my Modern Slavery (Amendment) Bill which has been given a First Reading by the House of Lords. The Bill would prohibit the falsification of slavery and human trafficking statements; would establish minimum standards of transparency in supply chains in relation to modern slavery and human trafficking; and prohibit companies using supply chains which fail to demonstrate minimum standards of transparency.
Earlier, during Question time, I asked the Government Trade Minister, Lord Grimstone, an oral question on whether the Government had taken note of the all party amendment passed on Tuesday night urging more concerted action in dealing with companies and countries banned in jurisdictions of our closest allies and tainted by everything from genocide to slave labour.
The Government should note that many Western fashion brands remain notably silent and continue to profit from their complicity in forced labour. Meanwhile H & M, which took a stand, saw its products boycotted by China after refusing to source Xinjiang cotton farmed by slaves.
We should stand with our allies by introducing a ban on cotton from Xinjiang and remove any doubt about whose side we are on – the enslaved or the slave drivers?
My Lords, I declare an interest as the vice-chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Uyghurs. Has the Minister noted the all-party amendment passed in your Lordships’ House on Tuesday night, urging more concerted action in dealing with companies and countries banned in the jurisdictions of our closest allies and tainted by everything from genocide to slave labour? As the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, said, should we not stand in unity with our Five Eyes allies? Will we not stand with companies such as H&M, which has now been boycotted in China for refusing to use cotton from Xinjiang that is farmed by slaves, and make it clear whose side we are on—on the side of the slaves or on the side of the slave-drivers?
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel (Con)
My Lords, we always bow to the noble Lord’s deep expertise in these matters, and we all very much appreciate the close attention that he pays to them. I like to think that the United Kingdom is one of the global leaders in bringing this issue to people’s attention. We have sponsored resolutions at the UN and elsewhere in relation to this, and will continue to do so.
