CFU PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 12, 2024, 9:30 AM
Contact: contact@campaignforuyghurs.org
+1 650-703-4523
https://campaignforuyghurs.org
Washington, D.C. – Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) draws urgent attention to groundbreaking research released today by Dr. Adrian Zenz and I-Lin Lin of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC), revealing the extensive use of forced labor in China’s agricultural sector in East Turkistan, particularly in the production of tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, and stevia.
The comprehensive report exposes how major Chinese corporations, representing over 50% of China’s tomato production and 65% of global red pepper pigment production, are deeply implicated in forced labor practices and the coercive transfer of land-use rights from Uyghur farmers. The research further reveals that 10% of global chili peppers and nearly two-thirds of the world’s paprika oleoresin originate from facilities in East Turkistan using forced labor.
“This groundbreaking research is the most comprehensive evidence of what we have long known – the Chinese Communist Party’s genocide against the Uyghur people extends deep into the agricultural sector, affecting global supply chains and implicating major international brands,” said Rushan Abbas, Executive Director of CFU. “The forced transfer of land rights from Uyghur farmers to Chinese corporations, combined with coercive labor practices and political indoctrination, represents yet another facet of the regime’s systematic assault on Uyghur rights and identity.”
The investigation reveals troubling connections between these tainted supply chains and major multinational corporations, including Kraft Heinz, Nestlé, Del Monte, PepsiCo, McCormick, Unilever, and L’Oreal. Of particular concern is the ongoing strategic relationship between Kraft Heinz and COFCO, a state-owned enterprise in East Turkistan that actively participates in the surveillance of Uyghur households and enforces policies linked to cultural assimilation and forced labor.
A parallel BBC investigation, supported by this research, has identified 17 products in European supermarkets containing tomatoes likely harvested through Uyghur forced labor, highlighting the global reach of this crisis.
“The evidence is clear – products tainted by Uyghur forced labor are reaching consumers worldwide,” Abbas emphasized. “Every company maintaining business relationships with enterprises in East Turkistan must recognize their complicity in the ongoing genocide against the Uyghur people. The time for action is now.”
Campaign for Uyghurs calls for:
- Immediate cessation of all corporate partnerships with agricultural enterprises in East Turkistan;
- Enhanced global enforcement of existing forced labor prevention laws, including implementation of the “rebuttable presumption” on all exports linked to East Turkistan;
- Implementation of mandatory supply chain transparency requirements for high-risk agricultural products;
- Increased scrutiny of products from countries known to process agricultural goods from East Turkistan; and
- Immediate divestment from companies maintaining business relationships with implicated Chinese enterprises
CFU urges consumers, businesses, and governments worldwide to recognize that every purchase of these tainted products perpetuates the ongoing genocide against the Uyghur people. We call for immediate action to sever all economic ties that enable these atrocities and demand comprehensive accountability for the Chinese regime’s ongoing crimes against humanity.
