Report launch: Human rights violations in the production of trains and trams in China

Welcome to the launch of a new report investigating human rights risks in train and tram manufacturing in China. The report shows significant risks of human rights violations including state-imposed forced labour. At the webinar, the findings will be presented and SL, Västtrafik and Skånetrafiken will provide their comments and answer questions.

ABOUT THE WEBINAR

When: 14 March 2024, 09:00-10:30 CET
Where: online
Price: free

Details

The report will be launched March 14th of 2024 by ETI Sweden, along with SL, Västtrafik and Skånetrafiken in cooperation with Luleå Lokaltrafik. The research has been conducted by Globalworks by analysing social media posts and official documents, websites, and news sources.

The findings show that state-imposed forced labour is systematic and common in the supply chains of trains and trams in China. Not only Uighurs in the Xinjiang province are affected; but also other ethnic minorities, poor households and vulnerable groups such as underaged interns are exploited.

Public Transport Authorities in Sweden are already working to ensure that trains and trams are sustainably manufactured. The regions of Sweden jointly collaborate on setting sustainability requirements and have a common code of conduct for suppliers. However, follow-up is complex due to low transparency in Chinese supply-chains. Under current procurement regulations, it is not possible to exclude tenders from a specific country.

With this report, the Swedish Public Transport Authorities want to raise awareness regarding human rights risks in train and tram supply chains and wish to strengthen the collaboration regarding sustainable procurement of public transportation in Sweden.

Agenda

  1. Introduction, ETI Sweden
  2. Report findings and method, Globalworks
  3. Comments on the findings, Sl, Västtrafik, Skånetrafiken
  4. Q&A

Contact

For questions, please contact info@etisverige.se.