Press Release: Remediation for Workers Paramount After US Customs and Border Protection Blocks all Central Romana Sugar Imports from the Dominican Republic
November 23, 2022
Today, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) against raw sugar and sugar-based products produced by Central Romana Corporation Limited (Central Romana) in the Dominican Republic. This WRO comes after CBP found five indicators of forced labor: abuse of vulnerability, isolation, withholding of wages, abusive working and living conditions, and excessive overtime. We welcome this long-overdue move by CBP to address the rampant forced labor in the Dominican sugar sector. For decades, Central Romana has abused and exploited its workers in the Dominican Republic, with egregious labor conditions in its sugar cane fields. The challenge now is to ensure that Central Romana remediates the harm to workers to the fullest extent.
“This WRO is the first step toward cane cutters finally having their legal rights protected. We urge Central Romana to prioritize the wellbeing of the workers as they develop a swift and comprehensive remediation plan,” said Charity Ryerson, Executive Director of Corporate Accountability Lab. “We now have an extraordinary opportunity for CBP, Central Romana, and civil society to work together to ensure that workers are free, they are treated fairly, and that forced labor never happens on these farms again. Remediation means improving conditions, not deporting workers. Deportation constitutes a continuation of the harm.”
Read our press release here, and learn more about this issue in our recently-published blog.