The European Parliament passed a resolution on 15 November 2018 urging the Bangladesh government to extend the tenure of the Transition Accord beyond November this year. Currently, the Transition Accord is set to be expelled from Bangladesh on 30 November 2018.
The European Parliament passed the resolution when the Government of Bangladesh and its Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC) have met the readiness conditions and these types of Responsible Business Conduct initiatives will no longer be needed.
The resolution calls upon the European Commission to review the preferential trade status of Bangladesh, as the government of Bangladesh is violating the conditions set out by the Accord, the Sustainability Compact and the terms of their most favorable trade arrangement with the EU.
“The Accord´s safety inspection program is the only credible program in Bangladesh, without such there will be no way to ensure that garment factories remain safe. Last June, during the meeting of the EU-US Bangladesh Sustainability Compact, it was also confirmed that the Accord should remain until such time as the Bangladesh government is ready to take over, which it currently isn’t,” said the resolution.
The resolution also claimed that while the Government of Bangladesh continues on this reckless path of expelling the only organization currently equipped to prevent mass fatality factory disasters, such as the Rana Plaza collapse, Clean Clothes Campaign calls on all brands and retailers to make their orders conditional on the Accord being able to stay.
After the Rana Plaza collapse, the Accord was formed in 2013 with a five-year tenure to improve safety standards in Bangladesh’s RMG sector.
Also Read: ‘The tenure of Accord could not be extended more’
