Papua New Guinea | Human Rights Abuses and Risks

Last Updated: Sep 2024

EVIDENCE | Forced labor, child labor, and/or human trafficking in seafood

Source Details
U.S. Department of Labor
2024 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor
Not profiled in report
U.S. Department of Labor
2023 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor
Evidence of child labor in the fishing sector.
U.S. Department of State
2024 Trafficking in Persons Report
Burmese, Cambodian, PRC national, Malaysian, Vietnamese, and local men and boys seeking work on fishing vessels go into debt to pay recruitment fees, which vessel owners and senior crew manipulate to coerce them to continue working indefinitely through debt bondage in Papua New Guinea’s exclusive economic zone and in other maritime territories, particularly in tuna fishing. These fishermen may face little to no pay, contract switching, wage garnishing or withholding, harsh working and living conditions, restricted communication, and threats of physical violence as coercive tactics to retain their labor. Often with direct government support, companies reportedly compel these workers to carry out illegal logging and fishing activities, making them vulnerable to forced criminality. Women arriving from countries including Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the PRC, and the Philippines are turned over to traffickers who transport them to fishing sites, among other industries.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch
Seafood Social Risk Tool Profile
No country risk profile available
Additional civil society organization reports documenting human rights abuses:
N/A

RISK FACTORS

Risk Factor​ Status Details
Flag of Convenience
(International Transport Workers Federation)
No Flags of Convenience are connected to the occurrence of human trafficking and forced labor in fishing. Vessels registered to Flag of Convenience states may lack a legitimate connection to the flag state and may be subject to less rigorous management and oversight by the flag state.
Active yellow or red card for failing to tackle illegal fishing
(European Union)
No The European Union gives countries yellow and red cards for failing in their requirements under international law to take action against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. There is evidence linking IUU fishing to an increased risk of human trafficking and forced labor on board fishing vessels.
Failure to ratify key treaties and international labor conventions

Ratifying key treaties and international labor conventions indicates a country’s commitment to uphold international standards.

  • Port State Measures Agreement: Ratified
  • ILO C188 Work in Fishing Convention: Not ratified
  • ILO Core Labor Conventions: Not ratified 2 of 10
    • C155 - Occupational Safety and Health Convention
    • C187 - Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention