Counter Uyghur Forced Labor

Uyghur forced labor is a serious issue. The CCP has been using Uyghur forced labor to pick cotton in East Turkistan, and have been sending Uyghurs into China to work in manufacturing facilities. These Uyghurs, under the guise of “re-education” and “vocational skills”, have been forced to work in camps under coercion. The CCP uses coercive tactics, ordering re-education courses for those who refuse along with the implicit threat of detention in concentration camps.

There may be over one million Uyghurs who are subject to a forced labor program. These programs consist of two systems; rural transfers, where local Uyghurs are forced to pick cotton, mine quartz, or otherwise engage in local, seasonal activities, and larger detainee transfers, where victims of China’s concentration camps are sent in labor transfers to work in resource extraction or manufacturing. These products include: apparel, solar panels, processors, batteries, PVC flooring, lithium, medical equipment, and more.

In the United States, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act passed Congress and was signed into law on December 23, 2021. The UFLPA is a comprehensive bill that targets Uyghur forced labor goods and bans them from entering the U.S. The UFLPA bans any goods made in whole or in part from resources or labor from the Uyghur Region, and implements a presumptive ban. A rebuttable presumption is one where all products comin from a specific region or company are deemed to be using forced labor unless otherwise proven. This means that companies will have to prove that they did not use Uyghur forced labor if their products were made in or uses materials or labor from East Turkistan. This is a critical point that makes the UFLPA effective against something as large and complex as the state-sponsored labor system that the CCP implements. The UFLPA went into effect on June 21, 2022, six months after the passage of the bill.

In the European Union, a new ban on forced labor goods has been proposed by the European Commission. While it is a step forward, it lacks the teeth that the UFLPA has, namely the region wide ban and the use of a rebuttable presumption. It is critical that the EU utilize these two factors in their forced labour proposal, otherwise they risk allowing Uyghur forced labor goods entering the single market, and of the CCP profiting from genocide.

The use of forced labor by the Chinese Communist Party is well-documented, and has been a serious cause of concern, particularly as the regime commits genocide against the Uyghurs. Here are some reports and articles that go into depth about Uyghur forced labor.

Reports

Campaign for Uyghurs’ Genocide Report: In July 2020, Campaign for Uyghurs released a report documenting evidence and coming to the conclusion that the Chinese regime is committing genocide against the Uyghurs.

World Uyghur Congress’ Human Rights Report: In May 2021, World Uyghur Congress released a human rights report documenting and covering the events of 2020 in East Turkistan.

IN BROAD DAYLIGHT: Uyghur Forced Labour and Global Solar Supply Chains: In May 2021, a report released by Dr. Laura Murphy investigated the solar supply chain and found that 45% of raw material and 95% of processed materials were made in China, and that forced labor is prevalent through the supply chain, tainting the global supply.

Newlines’ Institute & Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights Genocide Report: In March 2021, the independent think tank Newlines’ Institute published a report documenting the crimes committed by the Chinese regime against Uyghurs. The legal analysis of the evidence and international law concluded that the CCP was committing genocide against the Uyghur people, violating the United Nations Genocide Convention.

Human Rights Watch Crimes Against Humanity Report: In April 2021, Human Rights Watch released a report concluding that the actions of the Chinese regime against Uyghurs and Turkic people constituted Crimes Against Humanity under the ICC Rome Statute. The report compiles findings and provides recommendations to the Chinese regime, international bodies such as the UN, and concerned states.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute “Uyghurs for Sale” Report: ASPI’s report from March 2020 detailed Uyghur forced labor and implicated 83 brands.