Paying market value is no defense for importing forced labour goods, rules UK court
A legal victory for Uyghur activists has major consequences for UK companies, the EU should add Xinjiang to its upcoming forced labour database, and thousands of people are deported from the U.S. for drug offenses which no longer exist.
UK companies must clean up their supply chains or risk prosecution, following a Court of Appeal ruling that failure by the country’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to investigate whether imported cotton goods were the product of Uyghur forced labour was unlawful. Crucially, the Court determined that paying “adequate consideration” (i.e. a “fair price”) anywhere in the supply chain does not prevent forced labour goods imported into the UK from being identified as criminal property.
The judgment is said to be the first of its kind in the world involving Uyghur forced labour, and overturns a previous UK High Court decision on a legal challenge by the World Uyghur Congress against the UK Government and its agencies, regarding their failure to investigate cotton imports from the Uyghur Region. That decision favored the NCA’s argument that a specific shipment and evidence of criminal conduct linked to that shipment would need to be identified for there to be the proper basis to start an investigation, despite all parties agreeing that the Uyghur people are being subjected to human rights violations and exploited through forced labour. Additionally, the High Court agreed that even if specific shipments of goods were identified and considered criminal property, there would be a defense if market value was paid for those goods.
The World Uyghur Congress, an international organization of exiled Uyghur groups which represents the interests of the Uyghur people, appealed against that ruling, arguing that the judge had “correctly identified the nature of its challenge [but] failed to address the substance of it”. Allowing the appeal, the Justices stated that the NCA’s propositions that it was necessary to be able to identify specific criminal property and criminal conduct to start an investigation, and that the payment of “adequate consideration” anywhere in the supply chain would prevent any goods imported into the UK from being identified as criminal property or recoverable property, were “wrong as a matter of law”. Experts observe that the Court of Appeal has therefore overturned the high evidentiary threshold to start an investigation and rejected the broad interpretation of the “adequate consideration” exemption.
According to human rights organization Anti-Slavery International, the judgment will have a broad impact and sends a strong signal that the UK should not allow itself to become a dumping ground for goods made with forced labour. The case is not only important for all workers at risk of modern slavery, but is particularly salient as it centers on Uyghur forced labour, which is a “key part of the wide-scale system of control and persecution by the Chinese government on Uyghurs, Turkic and other Muslim-majority peoples”, it says.
However, the group also points out that, while this judgment represents a major victory, it is not sufficient to stop goods made with forced labour from entering the UK market, saying the UK Government must now introduce new legislation and join the U.S. and EU in approving far-reaching bans on such products. It also urges UK authorities to honor this judgment and not seek to appeal the case, saying such laws are necessary to ensure that companies cannot profit from forced labour goods and that they provide remedy to victims of forced labour. It should not fall on civil society and communities impacted by forced labour to have to pursue long and expensive court cases to make sure that companies are held to account for abuses in their supply chains, it adds.
Both The World Uyghur Congress and Anti-Slavery International are members of The Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, a group of civil society organizations and trade unions united to end state-sponsored forced labour and human rights abuses against people from the Uyghur Region in China. It calls on leading companies to exit the Uyghur Region at every level of their supply chain, from raw materials to finished products, and to end relationships with suppliers supporting the forced labour system. Organizations that wish to become endorsers of the Call to Action can do so by filling in this form.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
The U.S. Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) published an update to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) last week, highlighting an expanded list of entities that are likely linked to forced labour in China, as well as new high-priority sectors such as seafood and aluminum. Entities in these sectors will be prioritized for review for a variety of enforcement actions including export limitations, economic sanctions, and visa restrictions, with seafood importers now in line for increased scrutiny on seafood produced in Xinjiang in particular.
And the EU’s upcoming adoption of its Forced Labour Regulation (FLR) and associated database presents it with the opportunity to set up an encompassing and rights-based approach to its relations with Chinese authorities, for instance by listing Xinjiang and the aluminum sector on the database as carrying forced labour risks, says Human Rights Watch.
Independent human rights experts, including the UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, have welcomed the decision by the newly elected UK Government to scrap the policy to transfer certain asylum seekers to Rwanda for asylum processing. The move was described as an important step in protecting the right to asylum and human rights of all migrants and refugees seeking protection in the UK, with experts reiterating calls for the UK to ensure that border governance measures, including those aimed at addressing unsafe and irregular arrivals, fully respect international human rights and refugee law.
Thousands of people in the United States are being deported every year for drug offenses that in many cases no longer exist under state laws, harming and separating immigrant families, according to a joint report by Human Rights Watch and Drug Policy Alliance. The groups found that between 2002 and 2020, the federal government deported at least 156,000 people whose most serious criminal offense was for drug use or possession, including more than 47,000 for marijuana use or possession, even though marijuana has been legalized or decriminalized in most states.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline’s Media Guide has been updated, to help reporters, writers and entertainment professionals tell stories of trafficking accurately, with nuance, and in a way that portrays people with lived experience of trafficking with dignity.
Experts have questioned Tesla’s approach to monitoring for child labour at cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying its satellite imagery and third-party reviews are not rigorous enough, and that a significant percentage of cobalt is coming from artisanal mines which Tesla is not monitoring at all. Cobalt is a crucial component of the batteries Tesla builds for its electric vehicles.
USAID Asia CTIP, Winrock International and Humanity Research Consultancy will host an interactive online workshop on Learnings from Victim Identification and Referral Mechanisms in Asia on 17 July at 9am BST.
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