Bangladesh wants Accord to leave by a fixed date regardless of whether there is a competent safety authority to replace it. Accord was a response to the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013 that claimed more than 1000 lives.

With no transparency and no verifiable assurance that the unprecedented level factory safety achieved by Accord will be maintained, global brands sourcing from Bangladesh cannot take the risk of a return to conditions that led to the collapse of Rana Plaza in 2013.

Accord had appealed against a court order to leave Bangladesh by a specified date. An appellate court granted Accord a number of extensions, during which time Accord developed a handover plan. The plan is based on transferring responsibility for inspection and remediation of Accord factories in stages, based on a demonstrated capacity of the responsible body, RCC, to take over these functions.

However, both the ILO and the European Commission have repeatedly stated that the RCC is far from being ready to take over the Accord functions. Accord, a platform of more than 200 global apparel brands, retailers and rights groups based mostly in Europe, was formed immediately after the Rana Plaza building collapse to improve workplace safety in the country’s apparel industry.