Correspondence
Email sent to two contact addresses at Cité Marine.
The email said: "I’m contacting you in light of our latest investigation which concerns the use of forced labor in China’s food processing industry, and a link we’ve discovered between a company engaged in such practices and your supply chain.
Cité Marine’s supplier Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Products has received persons from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China under the state-imposed labor transfer program.
The United Nations, human rights organizations and academic experts agree that since 2018, the Chinese government has systematically subjected Xinjiang’s predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities to forced labor across the country via state-sanctioned employment schemes which use coercive methods in worker enrollment. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor.
Does Cité Marine have any comment or statement to make in light of the above information? Please let me know by close of business, July 6, 2023."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed Cité Marine: "Further to our email dated July 4, 2023, our investigation has identified additional links to Uyghur labor in your company's supply chain. Cité Marine’s supplier Qingdao Lian Yang Aquatic Products, which is linked to Qingdao Tianyuan by corporate ownership, has received persons from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China under the state-imposed labor transfer program. Our investigation demonstrates the presence of Uyghur workers at Qingdao Lian Yang as recently as April 2023. Does Cité Marine have any comment or statement to make in light of the above information? Please let us know by close of business, September 21, 2023, noting that all responses remain fully on the record."
After The Outlaw Ocean Project had twice emailed Cité Marine, publishing partner Le Monde reached out to the company and included the full text of the two earlier emails. Le Monde also asked for comment.
Sylvie Gey, Assistant General Manager at Cité Marine, responded. A summar of the email in English: The company had not received the previous emails and asked: Could you tell us what is the framework of your journalistic work and for what purposes your requests are intended? Depending on the information you provide us with, we could then arrange an appointment.
The email in its original language said: "Nous avons bien reçu votre courriel en date du 04/10 et vous en remercions. Après vérification, nous n’avons reçu aucun des mails auxquels vous faites allusion (04-07-23 et 15-09-23). Pourriez-vous nous préciser quel est le cadre de votre travail journalistique et à quelles fins se destinent vos sollicitations ? En fonction des éléments que vous nous fournirez nous pourrions alors convenir d’un rendez-vous. Cordialement."
The Outlaw Ocean Project’s publishing partner Le Monde replied. A summary of the email in English: The email reiterated the questions raised by The Outlaw Ocean in its two prior emails to Cité Marine, and noted they had been sent to email addresses frequently used by the company.
The email in its original language said: "Merci de votre réponse. Les deux emails ont pourtant été envoyés à des adresses fréquemment utilisées par l'entreprise. Par ailleurs, il est probable que des distributeurs vous aient également sollicité avec des interrogations sur ce sujet.
La question posée reste la même que dans les emails des 4 juillet et 15 septembre : l'entreprise souhaite-t-elle commenter les informations de The Outlaw Ocean selon lesquelles deux de vos fournisseurs, Qingdao Lian Yang Aquatic Products et Qingdao Tianyuan ont reçu des travailleurs venus de la région ouïgoure autonome du Xinjiang, en Chine, dans le cadre de transferts de main d'oeuvre imposés par l'Etat chinois. Leur enquête démontre notamment la présence de travailleurs ouïgours chez Qingdao Lian Yang pas plus tard qu'en avril 2023."
Sylvie Gey replied. A summary of the email in English: Cité Marine does not work with the company Lian Yang Aquatic Products, and that the Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Product company is MSC certified. This standard guarantees compliance with social standards, including the absence of forced labor. The email said that Qingdao Tianyuan has also been subject to regular social audits for several years under the SMETA benchmark, and these have never revealed any use of Uyghur forced labor. When Cité Marine became aware of the investigation, it immediately commissioned a new unannounced SMETA audit, which did not find Uyghur forced labor. The supplier also denied ever employing Uyghur workers in a forced manner. As a precaution, however, Cité Marine has ceased being supplied by that factory.
The email in its original langauge said: "Nous vous confirmons, une fois encore, ne pas avoir été contactés directement par Outlaw Ocean Project. Cependant, nous avons été informés cet été, d’une enquête qui aurait été réalisée par cette organisation journalistique américaine, via l’organisme de certification MSC (Marine Stewardship Council), ainsi que par certains de nos clients.
Pour votre information, sachez que nous ne travaillons pas avec la société Lian Yang Aquatic Products comme vous l’affirmez. En ce qui concerne la société Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Product, cette dernière est certifiée MSC. Ce référentiel garantit le respect de normes sociales, parmi lesquelles, l’absence de travail forcé.
Par ailleurs, cette société a fait l’objet d’audits sociaux réguliers depuis plusieurs années (référentiel SMETA) dont nous avons reçu les rapports. Ceux-ci n’ont jamais mis en évidence de faits d’emploi de main-d’œuvre forcée ouïghour. Pour autant, pour lever tout doute, dès que nous avons eu connaissance de cette enquête, nous avons mandaté sans délai un nouvel audit social SMETA, de manière inopinée (audit non annoncé, fournisseur non informé).
À nouveau, le rapport qui nous a été transmis n’a pas mis en évidence de tels faits. Nous avons également interrogé notre fournisseur sur ces accusations. Il nous garantit n’avoir jamais employé de travailleurs ouïghours de manière forcée. Néanmoins, à titre conservatoire et par précaution, nous avons arrêté les approvisionnements de cette usine.
En complément, de manière générale, Cité Marine a établi depuis des années une politique de référencement de l’ensemble de ses fournisseurs, qui intègre la prise en compte du volet social.
Notre politique de référencement fournisseur s’inscrit dans la mise en place de partenariats de longue durée. Pour toute relation commerciale, une charte RSE est signée avec le fournisseur retenu. Celle-ci reprend les objectifs principaux de développement durable de l’ONU et donc, notamment, l’absence de travail forcé. Par la signature de cet engagement, le fournisseur garantit le respect de l’ensemble des clauses ainsi que l’acceptation d’audits inopinés, en complément d’audits sociaux planifiés.
Je vous prie de croire, Monsieur, à l’assurance de ma considération distinguée."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed: "We last emailed Cité Marine on September 15, 2023, regarding our investigation into the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry. Our ongoing investigation has uncovered additional evidence which we wanted to bring to your attention.
We have investigators on the ground in China who have been engaging with labor brokers directly involved with the transfer of North Korean workers to factories in China. Through this and other investigative means, including collecting online footage from the plants and interviews with workers recently returned to North Korea from China, we’ve found large numbers of North Korean workers at a range of seafood processing plants in Liaoning province, on China’s border with North Korea.
We have information that as recently as December 2023, there were 50-70 workers at Dalian Haiqing Food Co. Ltd. in Liaoning.
According to trade records seen by The Outlaw Ocean Project, Cité Marine was the consignee for shipments of seafood from Dalian Haiqing between January 2020 and November 2023.
The use of overseas North Korean workers was prohibited by the United Nations Security Council in 2017, with Resolution 2397 setting a deadline of December 2019 for the repatriation of all such workers to North Korea. Under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), passed in 2017, the United States prohibits the import of any goods produced by North Korean nationals unless clear and convincing evidence is provided that indicates the materials were not made with forced labor.
Given the above, we have some questions for Cité Marine:
- While we understand that you may not be aware of the above issues, we want to ask if Cité Marine has any comment to make in response to this email?
- Can you confirm or deny if Cité Marine has supplied any seafood from Dalian Haiqing to any of the following: Aldi, Auchan, Carrefour, Casino, Franprix, Grand Frais, Intermarché, E.Leclerc, Lidl, or Sysco France?"
Aline Marchon, Quality Manager at Cité Marine, emailed: "We have just read your email and we apologize for our late response. Of course, we were not aware of these practices. Haiqing is actually one of our suppliers of yellow fine sole. We know that it has several factories in the Liaoning. But the materials we have purchased only come from one factory. Can you specify which factory is implicated so that we can identify if it is the factory that supplies us? I precize that I’m in charge of this kind of topics. Please contact me directly, instead of the email addresses below that are the wrong recipients."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thank you very much for your email, and for engaging with us and our investigation.
As a journalism outlet, we are unable to provide anything that risks exposing our sources to retribution or penalty from authorities in China and/or North Korea. That said, we do not wish to hinder your investigation into the allegations and will share what additional context we feel safely able to at this time.
As you acknowledged in your email of February 16, 2024, Dalian Haiqing operates multiple plants from the same area in Zhuanghe City, Liaoning (Address: Floor 1-3, No. 9, Section 2, Jianshe Street, Zhuanghe City, Dalian, Liaoning Province 辽宁省大连庄河市新华街道小寺委建设大街二段9号1-3层).
One of our investigators in China visited this site on our behalf, providing video footage from the grounds. Haiqing displays its branding at each of the facilities, and Chinese corporate records indicate it is still the parent company. We used mapping software and open source footage to independently confirm the location of this investigator’s visit.
Our investigator who visited the plant was accompanied by a businessman who works with the plant. This businessman also identified the dorms and said that Haiqing employed 50-70 North Korean workers and has done so since 2021.
Our investigation has also interviewed North Korean workers who worked as recently as 2023 at facilities they said were owned by Haiqing. These workers, most of them women, described their time doing seafood processing at Haiqing plants and some of them described sexual coercion from their managers and sex for pay.
Has Cité Marine carried out any social audits at Haiqing’s facilities in Liaoning? If so, how recently were these conducted and by whom? Did those audits have any processes in place for identifying the presence of North Koreans?"
Aline Marchon, Quality Manager at Cité Marine, responded: "Thanks for your reply. Of course, we strongly condemn such facts, if they are true.
You mention the following adress : Address: Floor 1-3, No. 9, Section 2, Jianshe Street, Zhuanghe City, Dalian, Liaoning Province. Is this the exact address at which the reports were made?
As part of our responsible purchasing policy, we have the following prerequisites:
- Establishment of a risk map by country of origin
- For the highest risks (e.g. China) : guarantee of carrying out social audits (SMETA or BSCI)
- Signature of the commitment to respect our CSR charter by our suppliers. It incorporates the UN's main Sustainable Development Goals. By signing this commitment, the supplier guarantees compliance with all clauses as well as the acceptance of unannounced audits, in addition to planned social audits.
In addition, for many years, we have also been working with independant chinese quality controllers (who are not employed by the supplier), who carry out quality checks of our products in the factories, during productions, for us. This is an additional service that we pay for in order to guarantee compliance with our specifications. Although their mission is not to carry out social audits (which could put them in difficulty), we have very regular exchanges with them, and we can interview them informally. Regarding this specific case, we therefore questioned our supplier, as well as the independent quality control team. The supplier denies having North Korean employees. And the quality control team confirms that they have never seen any North Korean employees present in the factory they inspect for us.
This factory has been audited by SMETA (25/07/23) and BSCI (03/07/23). These 2 audit frameworks verify the number of foreign employees. No foreign employees were found.
Furthermore, we also carry out our own quality audits, and we were just present in the factory that makes our products on November (the 22 of november). Of course, the subject of the audit was essentially on quality system, but during this time, we have also been attentive about the attitude of the workers. We constated that there was a social management policy (team building, employee of the year, bonus for the best employees...). This is not common in Chinese factories."
A coalition of eighteen NGOs wrtoe to thirteen major seafood distributors and retailers, including Cité Marine, asking a series of questions connected to the Outlaw Ocean's reporting. Their email to Cité Marine said: "Dear Cité Marine,
We are writing to you on behalf of a consortium of human rights NGOs requesting an update on the steps Cité Marine has taken following the investigation published by The Outlaw Ocean Project. The investigation highlighted concerns about state-imposed Uyghur and North Korean forced labor across the Chinese seafood processing facilities, including within your company’s supply chain.
Given the seriousness of these findings, we are keen to learn about the progress of your internal investigations that your company stated it would conduct. Please refer to the attached letter for detailed inquiries. We look forward to your prompt response by August 2, 2024.
Sincerely, Ethan Hee-Seok Shin, Transitional Justice Working Group Krysta Bisnauth, Freedom United"
The attached letter read:
"Dear Cité Marine,
The undersigned organizations, experts on human rights, labor rights, Uyghur rights, North Korean rights, and trade law, are requesting an update on the steps Cité Marine committed to take following the publication of a series of investigations published by The Outlaw Ocean Project. The findings on the investigations, which shed light on the use of state-imposed forced labor in your company’s seafood supply chain, are deeply concerning and demand immediate attention from all stakeholders in the industry.
In 2023, Cité Marine stated it would investigate exposure to state-imposed forced labor in its downstream supply chains. Given the severity of the harms reported and the gravity of the situation and the potential impact on human rights and environmental sustainability, we are keen to learn about the progress of these investigations into your company's seafood supply chain.
We ask that you provide us with an update on the following points:
- The due diligence conducted to identify whether direct Chinese suppliers or sub-suppliers are using, or at risk of using, Uyghur or North Korean forced labor;
- Any preliminary findings or outcomes from these investigations, e.g., has your company identified Chinese suppliers or sub-suppliers using or at risk of using Uyghur or North Korean forced labor;
- Steps your company has taken or leverage used to cease supplier’s or sub-supplier’s participation in state-imposed forced labor programs, including poverty alleviation programs;
- Where suppliers or sub-suppliers did not cease their participation, or agree to a time bound plan to do so, whether your company disengaged, or has plans to disengage, from that business relationship;
- Steps your company has taken or plans to take to report this information to shareholders (if applicable), companies within your supply chain, consumers, or other stakeholders or otherwise make these findings publicly available.
We believe that maintaining a supply chain free from forced labor is not only a legal and ethical imperative, but also crucial for the sustainability of the seafood industry. Your prompt response and continued diligence in this matter are essential for upholding these standards. Please respond to these questions within three weeks of receipt. Information provided will inform ongoing investigations into forced labor in seafood supply chains.
Sincerely, Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) Hubert Younghwan Lee, Executive Director
Human Trafficking Legal Center Martina Vandenberg, Founder and President
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) Greg Scarlatoiu, Executive Director
Advocates for Public Interest Law (APIL) Shin Young Chung, Attorney
HanVoice Sean Chung, Chief Executive Officer
The Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR) Joanna Hosaniak, Deputy Director General
Corporate Accountability Lab Charity Ryerson, Executive Director and Founder
International Corporate Accountability Roundtable David McKean Deputy Director
Humanity United Action Emily Risko, Associate Program Manager - Forced Labor & Human Trafficking
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Gaelle Dusepulchre, Deputy Director - Business, Human Rights and Environment
Uyghur American Association Elfidar Iltebir, President
Anti-Slavery International Chloe Cranston, Head of Thematic Advocacy Programmes
Uyghur Human Rights Project Omer Kanat, Executive Director
Freedom United Krysta Bisnauth, Advocacy Manager
Global Labor Justice Allison Gill, Legal Director
Investor Alliance for Human Rights Anita Dorett, Director
Campaign For Uyghurs Rushan Abbas, Founder And Executive Director
Worker Rights Consortium Jewher Ilham, Forced Labor Project Coordinator"
Aline Marchon, on behalf of Cité Marine, responded to the NGO coalition letter:
"Dear Ethan and Krysta,
As we explained to Outlaw, we have a due diligence process in place :
Indeed, as part of our responsible purchasing policy, we have the following prerequisites :
- Establishment of a risk map by country of origin,
- For the highest risks (e.g. China) : guarantee of carrying out social audits (SMETA or BSCI), every year,
- Signature of the commitment to respect our CSR charter by our suppliers. This charter incorporates the UN's main Sustainable Development Goals.
By signing this commitment, the supplier undertakes to respect all the clauses as well as accepting unannounced audits, in addition to planned social audits.
Regarding the two factories which were the subject of Outlaw’s investigations, since they were unable to demonstrate their innocence based on, we have ceased all commercial relations with them.
As we have previously stated, we strongly condemn all practices that violate human rights. Respecting these rights throughout our value chain is not only a legal and ethical obligation, but also essential to the sustainability of our industry.
Sincerely, Aline Marchone"