EU urges BD to step up efforts on labour, human rights

Despite progress in areas like factory safety, challenges remain in both labour and human rights in Bangladesh, the European Union's Everything But Arms (EBA) monitoring mission said Wednesday.
The mission also expressed disappointment that the recent amendments to the Bangladesh Labour Act only partially addressed the concerns of the European Union (EU) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
However, following a meeting with the EU team, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, accompanied by the commerce secretary and labour secretary, told the press that Bangladesh had highlighted the need for Bangladesh to be granted Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) facilities.
In response, the EU team said that negotiations in this regard would begin once the framework for GSP+ facilities was finalised.
Responding to a query, the foreign secretary pointed out that the EU team's visit was part of a routine visit and had no connection to the ongoing political developments in Bangladesh.
In their concluding statement, the EU mission said that on human rights, more efforts were needed to comply with the core EBA conventions, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), safeguarding freedom of expression, freedom of association, the right to peaceful assembly and creating an enabling environment for civil society to carry out its activities.
The EU monitoring mission arrived in Bangladesh on November 12 and is scheduled to depart today (Thursday). Its primary objective was to assess Bangladesh's compliance with its commitments under the "Everything But Arms" (EBA) trade arrangement.
The EBA arrangement offers duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) that respect the core conventions on human and labour rights.
Bangladesh is the largest beneficiary of the EBA, with exports to the EU market reaching €24 billion in 2022.
EU officials welcomed progress made on safety standards in the garment sector and noted some positive steps toward improving economic and social rights.
On labour rights, the mission recommended that Bangladesh step up its efforts to ensure that its policies and practices align with ILO standards.
The monitoring mission stressed the need for full implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) on the labour sector, particularly regarding guaranteeing freedom of association, collective bargaining and inclusive and representative participation of labour unions through tripartite consultation.
The EU encouraged Bangladesh to accept and implement the recommendations of the 2023 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in this regard.
The mission welcomed the government's commitment to swiftly introduce further amendments to labour law to achieve these objectives.
Observing delays in the agreed timetable under the NAP, the EU team urged the authorities to expedite the necessary reforms.
Deputy Managing Director for Asia and Pacific at the European External Action Service Paola Pampaloni said, "The visit to Bangladesh has provided a valuable opportunity to engage with key stakeholders on the importance of fulfilling the human rights and labour rights that are an intrinsic part of the EBA arrangement. We will continue to work closely with the Bangladesh authorities, businesses, civil society and trade unions to accelerate the necessary reforms."
The EU will continue the enhanced monitoring process of EBA compliance through the existing bilateral dialogue with the government and all stakeholders.
The next EU GSP report, which includes a detailed assessment of Bangladesh's compliance with EBA conditionality, will be published at the end of November.
The EU will review progress on the reforms at the next EU-Bangladesh Joint Commission, scheduled to take place in Spring 2024.

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