Responding to international outrage, a Thai delegation reverse course and voted to support a United Nations pact against slave labor.
Thailand was alone with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Malaysia and Slovenia in casting votes against the International Labor Organization’s accord on Wednesday in Geneva, the same day a damning investigative report by the U.K.-based Guardian showed the Thai fishing industry’s use of slaves to feed to world’s supply of shrimp. On Friday a Thai official sent a message to the ILO changing its vote, according to a seafood industry publication.
In a statement, Patana Bhandhufalk wrote that “we have decided to join the consensus in adopting the said protocol, bearing in mind our need to proceed in accordance with our domestic requirements.”
Also Friday, French retail multinational Carrefour announced it had stopped buying shrimp from CP Foods due to concerns raised by the Guardian report.
Photo: Roberto Tim
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