七國峯會將討論供應鏈標準保障工人人權
FRANKFURT — A Burmese migrant worker is sold by traffickers as a slave to the owner of a Thai fishing boat. The catch of the boat is used to make fish meal to feed farmed shrimp. The shrimp wind up in supermarkets in the United States and Europe.
法蘭克福——一名緬甸外來務工人員被人販子賣給一艘泰國漁船的老闆當了奴隸。這艘船捕獲的水產會被用來製作餵給養殖蝦的魚粉，而這些蝦最後會出現在美國和歐洲的超市裏。Issues of security and economics tend to attract the most attention at Group of 7 meetings. But when President Obama and other leaders of the nations in the group meet at the Bavarian spa resort of Schloss Elmau on June 7 and 8, one of the items on the agenda will be related to those Thai shrimp.
安全和經濟似乎是七國集團峯會最引人關注的議題。不過，6月7日和8日，當奧巴馬總統與該集團其他國家的領導人在巴伐利亞州的溫泉度假勝地埃爾茂宮(Schloss Elmau)會晤時，其中一項議程將與這些來自泰國的蝦有關。
The leaders plan to discuss so-called supply chain standards — ways of ensuring that everyday products like food, electronics and jewelry do not come packaged with human misery as a hidden ingredient.
七國領導人計劃就“供應鏈標準”問題進行討論——研究哪些辦法可以保證食物、電子產品和珠寶等日常商品當中不會隱藏着他人的疾苦。
Abuses in the Thai fishing industry have been well documented and were the subject of hearings in the United States Congress in April. The Group of 7 countries — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — represent 45 percent of global economic output, which gives them considerable power to push for better working conditions not only for Thai fishing crews but also for miners in Democratic Republic of Congo and textile workers in Bangladesh.
泰國漁業中虐待工人的現象有詳細的資料記錄，還是於今年4月舉行的多次美國國會聽證會的主題。七國集團——英國、加拿大、法國、德國、意大利、日本和美國——代表着45%的世界經濟產出，所以擁有相當大的力量，不僅可以爲泰國的漁業工作者，還可以爲剛果民主共和國的礦工和孟加拉國的紡織工人，爭取更好的工作條件。The urgency was underlined on May 14 after at least 72 workers died in a fire that consumed a factory near Manila that made rubber sandals and slippers. The products were made for local markets, according to news reports, but the events showed the potentially deadly consequences of unsafe working conditions.
今年5月14日，馬尼拉附近一家生產橡膠涼鞋和拖鞋的工廠被大火吞沒，導致至少72名工人死亡，相關問題的急迫性由此得以突顯。新聞報道稱，這些產品是爲當地市場製造的，但此類事故說明不安全的工作環境可能會帶來怎樣的致命後果。No producer wants to be excluded from markets in the Group of 7. While the gathering of wealthy nations is known more for bland communiqués than bold initiatives, even a statement of resolve on supply chain standards would be welcome, watchdog groups say.
所有生產商都不想被七國集團的市場排除在外。監督團體表示，雖然這些富裕國家的會議更多地以乏味的公報著稱，鮮有大膽的行動，但一份在供應鏈標準問題上表達決心的聲明也會受到歡迎。“We would love to see the G-7 leaders make a strong commitment to this,” said Sophia Pickles, a senior campaigner at Global Witness, an advocacy group. “It would be an important signal.”
“我們希望看到七國集團領導人做出強有力的承諾，”倡導團體全球見證組織(Global Witness)的資深宣傳人員索菲婭·皮克爾斯(Sophia Pickles)說。“這將是一個非常重要的信號。”The United States and other countries already have rules designed to ensure that imported products are not contributing to human rights abuses or environmental damage. Dodd-Frank, the American law designed to address the financial crisis, has a provision requiring companies to disclose if they were using minerals like tungsten and gold exported illegally from the Democratic Republic of Congo or neighboring countries.
美國等國已經出臺相關法規，希望確保進口產品不會成爲侵犯人權或破壞環境的幫兇。旨在應對金融危機的聯邦法律《多德-弗蘭克法案》(Dodd-Frank)中有一條規定，企業必須披露，是否使用了剛果民主共和國或其鄰國非法出口的鎢和黃金等礦物。But watchdogs say the wealthy nations need to do more to ensure that existing rules are more rigorously enforced.
不過，監督團體表示，這些富裕國家需要採取更多舉措，確保更嚴格地執行現有規定。“Governments really need to start closing the door to illegally produced products,” said Jason Clay, a senior vice president at the World Wildlife Fund, which has pushed for improved scrutiny of timber and of other products that are often harvested in developing countries and exported to rich ones.
“政府亟需開始關閉向非法生產的產品敞開的大門，”世界自然基金會(World Wildlife Fund)的高級副會長賈森·克萊(Jason Clay)說。世界自然基金會一直要求加大對木材等通常由發展中國家生產並向富裕國家出口的產品的審查力度。Perhaps surprisingly, some corporations have been moving faster than governments to scrutinize where their products come from and to ensure they are not tainted, Mr. Clay said. The collapse of a building in Rana Plaza in Bangladesh in 2013, in which more than 1,100 textile workers were killed, demonstrated to retailers like Walmart how their own reputations and sales could be at risk from unscrupulous suppliers.
或許令人吃驚的是，克萊稱，在審覈產品來源及確保它們沒有污點方面，有些企業的行動比政府更加迅速。2013年，孟加拉國拉納廣場發生建築物垮塌事故，導致逾1100名紡織工人喪生。此事向沃爾瑪(Walmart)等零售商表明，道德缺失的供貨商會對它們自身的名譽和銷售狀況造成怎樣的威脅。Walmart denied reports that one of its suppliers had purchased jeans made by a company at the Rana Plaza complex. But Walmart has stepped up scrutiny of its supply chain and contributed to a fund for victims of the disaster.
有報道稱，沃爾瑪的一家供貨商採購了來自拉納廣場裏的一家公司的牛仔服，沃爾瑪對此予以了否認。不過，沃爾瑪加強了對自身供應鏈的審查，並給針對此次事故受害者的一家基金捐了款。“Even in the height of recession, companies were investing in sustainability because they knew their futures depended on it,” Mr. Clay said. “We don’t see that commitment from governments. They have trouble managing their own piece of the planet.”
“即便在經濟衰退最嚴重的時刻，企業也在對可持續性進行投資，因爲它們知道自己的未來取決於此，”克萊說。“我們沒有在政府身上看到這種決心。他們在處理自己的問題方面都有困難。”The push to put supply chains on the Group of 7 agenda comes largely from Germany, the world’s third-largest exporter after China and the United States. Germany, host of the meeting this year, is also the world’s third-largest importer, in part because of the raw materials required for its auto makers and other industries.
促使供應鏈問題被提上七國集團峯會議事日程的主要是德國——它是僅次於中國和美國的世界第三大出口國。作爲今年峯會主辦國的德國還是世界第三大進口國，這在一定程度上是因爲它需要進口汽車製造等行業所需要的原材料。“The rich industrial countries need to establish fundamental standards worldwide, so that these will be adopted by others,” said Gerd Müller, the German minister for economic cooperation and development.
德國經濟合作與發展部部長蓋德·米勒(Gerd Müller)表示，“富裕的工業化國家需要建立世界性的基本標準，從而讓這些標準被他國採用。”The European Commission is considering a proposal that would encourage companies to scrutinize whether minerals they use are coming from conflict areas. There are already similar rules in place that apply to timber and diamonds.
歐盟委員會正在考慮一項提議，其中鼓勵各大企業嚴格審查自身使用的礦物是否來自衝突地區。目前已有適用於木材和鑽石的類似規定。Global Witness and other nongovernmental organizations have complained, though, that the European proposal calls for voluntary rather than mandatory compliance. Companies such as mobile phone manufacturers would be certified as a European Union “responsible importer” if they documented that raw materials they were purchasing were not being used to help finance armed conflict. But there would be no legal obligation for them to do so.
然而，全球見證組織及其他一些非政府組織抱怨，歐洲的提議呼籲企業自願執行，而不是做出強制要求。如果手機廠商之類的公司提供文件證明，它們所購買的原材料不會被用來資助武裝衝突，它們就能成爲歐盟認證的“負責任進口商”。但這不屬於它們的法律義務。“The commission’s proposal is from our point of view extremely weak,” said Michael Gibb, a campaign leader at Global Witness in London who specializes in so-called conflict resources. Although Germany pushed to put supply chains on the agenda, he said, it is one of the countries that has resisted mandatory rules.
“在我們看來，歐盟委員會的提議力度太小，”全球見證組織駐倫敦的宣傳負責人邁克爾·吉布(Michael Gibb)說。他關注的正是“衝突資源”議題。他表示，雖然德國將供應鏈問題提上了議程，但它也是抵制強制規定的國家之一。Others say that voluntary rules are easier to steer through the political process and potentially just as effective.
其他一些人則認爲，自願性規定更容易通過政治程序，也可能同樣有效。A strong statement from the wealthy countries at the summit meeting would have a powerful effect on the developing countries that are the main suppliers, said Mr. Müller, the German development minister.
德國發展部部長米勒表示，參與峯會的富裕國家發表的有力聲明會對主要的供應方——發展中國家——產生巨大的影響。He noted that voluntary rules were more practical. “You can’t change world trade overnight with regulations,” he said. “What is decisive is that the industrial countries commit themselves to sustainable standards.”
他指出，自願性規定更加實際。“不可能通過監管一夜之間就改變世界貿易格局，”他說。“關鍵在於工業化國家致力於實施可持續標準。”Gabriela Ramos, chief of staff at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the person responsible for summit meeting preparations, said that reaching agreement on common supply chain standards would be significant.
經濟合作與發展組織(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)幕僚長、本次峯會準備工作的負責人加芙列拉·拉莫斯(Gabriela Ramos)表示，在供應鏈通用標準方面達成協議將具有重大意義。“It’s important for the G-7 to be leading by example,” Ms. Ramos said. “Sometimes you need to make progress in any way you can. Of course we would like to make everything obligatory. International law is more complicated than that.”
“重要的是七國集團應該以身作則，”拉莫斯說。“有時需要取得進步，無論通過何種方式。當然，我們樂於出臺強制性規定。但國際法要比這更復雜。
