CFU PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 8, 2024, 11:00 AM
Contact: contact@campaignforuyghurs.org
+1 650-703-4523
Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) applauds the United States Department of Homeland Security for its decision to expand the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) entity list. The updated list now includes five additional Chinese companies involved in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) state-sponsored forced labor programs targeting Uyghurs. This action underscores the efficacy of the UFLPA, and the commitment to eradicating forced labor in U.S. supply chains.
The companies added to the list include Hong Kong-based Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group Holdings and its parent company, Century Sunshine Group Holdings, both of which manufacture magnesium fertilizer and magnesium alloy products. Also listed is Zijin Mining Group Co. and its subsidiary, Xinjiang Habahe Ashele Copper Co., which specialize in mining nonferrous metals.
The CCP’s well-documented abuses and repressive policies align with the ILO’s latest “Handbook on Forced Labor,” which outlines the indicators of state-imposed forced labor. The CCP has implemented a system of forced labor designed to alter the demographic makeup of East Turkistan through labor transfers and to erase Uyghur culture—key strategies in the ongoing Uyghur genocide.
Executive Director Rushan Abbas, praised this decision stating, “the Uyghur genocide has turned into a profitable enterprise for big business. By expanding the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to cover these five CCP-controlled companies, the U.S. government is sending a strong message: it is committed to making this human rights crisis economically unsustainable. The only way to end this atrocity is for the global community—businesses, nations, and organizations—to unite and enforce substantial, effective consequences against the CCP’s brutal actions, rather than settling for mere statements of condemnation.”
CFU urges continued international vigilance and action against state-sponsored forced labor. By expanding the UFLPA Entity List and considering the extensive research on these abuses, the U.S. is setting a precedent for global human rights standards. CFU also calls for the swift passage of the Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act which will increase the capacity of the Department of Justice to prosecute trade crime violations, including violations of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
