The good news on human rights from China is not legion. It should also be noted that, on Wednesday April 20, Beijing announced that it had approved the ratification of the two fundamental conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) prohibiting the use of forced labour. There are eight core ILO conventions in all. Xi Jinping’s country had already ratified the two texts on child labor and the two on discrimination. There remains the ratification of two conventions on freedom of association which, unfortunately, is not on the agenda.
“By approving these ratifications, China reinforces its commitment to eliminate all forms of forced labor within its jurisdiction, to implement freedom of labor for its 1.4 billion people and to respect the fundamental principles and rights at work of the ‘ILO’, explains the organization. The first convention (noh 29) prohibits the use of forced labor in all its forms and requires that these practices become criminal offences. The second (noh 105) specifically calls for the immediate abolition of forced or compulsory labor in five specific circumstances.
These conventions will enter into force one year after the deposit of their instruments of ratification with the ILO. “This step demonstrates China’s strong support for the values of the ILO and reflects its commitment to protect every worker, man or woman, from the trap of forced labor practices, which have no place or justification in the world of labor. ‘today “, ex-British trade union leader Guy Ryder, current Director General of the ILO, said in a statement.
Explicit prerequisite
Surprisingly, this ratification was almost done on the sly. The Chinese media barely mention it. “For more than ten years, China has worked hard to improve its own laws to protect labor rights. For example, it now has a labor law, a labor contract law, and a labor dispute mediation and arbitration law,” explains Cao Yan, a jurist, in the GlobalTimes of April 21. For this Chinese newspaper, this ratification has ” little “ to do with possible Western pressures.
However, the calendar seems to indicate otherwise. Ratification of ILO conventions is an explicit prerequisite for the European Union (EU) to implement the Comprehensive Investment Agreement concluded between China and the EU at the end of December 2020, but never entered into force. . “We can only welcome this ratification. She was needed. But it is not sufficient. In the meantime, the imposition of Chinese sanctions against European parliamentarians makes it impossible for the agreement to be ratified by Parliament,” notes a European diplomat in Beijing.
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