Clean Clothes Campaign’s solidarity statement on the twelfth Rana Plaza anniversary

For the fifth year in a row we are offering people around the world the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings around this day publicly, through our register on ranaplazaneveragain.org. We invite everyone to show that the world has not forgotten about the workers who were killed and injured on this day.

We also urge the world to remember that it took over two years of intense campaigning to convince brands to ensure the injured workers and the families of those who died to be compensated for loss of income alone. Among the 30 brands identified as sourcing from the factory, only a handful contributed meaningfully. This shows the need for compensation for employment injury (ILO Convention 121) to enter into law in Bangladesh, following a pilot that started in 2022, but also for brands to be held accountable for what happens in their supply chain through legislation in their home countries.

Twelve years on, there is still no closure for many of those affected by the collapse. Many families continue to struggle financially and also legal closure remains distant. It is vital that the court cases against those responsible, including the owner of the building and the factories housed in it, are brought to a conclusion, in line with international human rights conventions. Twelve years on all of the cases are still pending and the building owner Sohel Rana is the only defendant awaiting trial behind bars. An overview of the cases still pending is available here. Only an end to impunity of those responsible can bring full justice and set precedents that help prevent a next disaster.