Uyghur workers employed under forced labor conditions in multinational supply chains
China’s ‘re-education’ campaign appears to be entering a new phase, and CNN documents the situation of female migrant workers in Lebanon.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has identified 27 factories in nine Chinese provinces that are using Uyghur labour transferred from Xinjiang since 2017.
China’s ‘re-education’ campaign appears to be entering a new phase, as Uyghurs are transferred out of Xinjiang and assigned to factories through labour transfer programs under a central government policy known as ‘Xinjiang Aid’.
The new report examines three case studies in which Uyghur workers appear to be employed under forced labour conditions by factories in China that supply major global brands. According to the research, Uyghur workers are often transported across China in separate segregated trains to their work placements. There they typically live in segregated dormitories, undergo enforced ideological training outside working hours, are subject to constant surveillance, and are forbidden from participating in religious observances.
The Chinese authorities and factory bosses manage Uyghur workers by ‘tracking’ them both physically and electronically. Only two weeks ago, the so-called ‘Karakax List’ was leaked – a Chinese government database that appears to document the medical, ideological, and imprisonment details of hundreds of Muslim minority Uyghurs in Karakax County, southwestern Xinjiang.
The identified factories are part of supply chains providing goods for 83 foreign and Chinese companies, including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony and Volkswagen. So far, Volkswagen, Apple and Nike have responded.
The report includes an appendix that details the factories involved and the brands that appear to have elements of forced Uyghur labour in their supply chains. It also makes specific recommendations for the Chinese government, companies, foreign governments, and civil society organizations.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy updates and news:
New research has been published by the Journal of Human Trafficking, including analyses of migration policy and human trafficking in the Russian Federation and of evaluations of counter-trafficking programming produced since the 2000 UN Trafficking Protocol.
The latest episode of the Justice and Coffee podcast features the founder of Ella’s, a charity that provides safe housing and long-term support for women who have experienced abuse through sexual exploitation. And this CNN feature documents the situation of African and South Asian female migrant workers in Lebanon.
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