In 2020, the U.S. Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, imposing strict requirements on U.S. companies to certify that their supply chains in China are free of forced labor by Uyghurs, a Muslim minority group primarily living in the Xinjiang region.
The United States and human rights groups have cited satellite images, leaked government documents and eyewitness evidence that more than 1 million Uyghurs are being subjected to mass detention, political indoctrination and forced labor to make cheap goods. points to the evidence. The Chinese government denies the claims.
To comply with the law, companies often rely on external audits to prove that forced labor is not present in their supply chains.
But experts say these inspections are susceptible to manipulation by Chinese companies and government officials. Some restrictions prevent you from freely reporting potential violations.
Lee emphasized that since any audit cannot be conducted without government oversight, “objective worker interviews without retaliation are impossible.”
Millions of tons of cotton remain unsold due to US labor laws in Xinjiang
Millions of tons of cotton remain unsold due to US labor laws in Xinjiang
Workers face worker and legal repercussions if they speak up to auditors, and audits only require employees to agree to their terms “if they already know what will be said.” Often operated by an administrator who allows you to discuss.
She said that unlike trade unions, “social audits parachute in and out”. In the absence of a structured organization to protect workers’ rights, not only during auditor visits but also in everyday life, many workers feel like “answer questions honestly and expect trouble.” It has become.
“When companies do business in China, they know that their employees don’t have the ability to have an independent organization because they are not allowed to do so. “There is no law that allows for ‘the giving part,'” she said.
“But authoritarian and repressive governments cannot tolerate independent democratic unions because they are a threat to authoritarianism.”
Blinken highlights China’s Uyghurs as victims of ‘genocide’ in US report release
Blinken highlights China’s Uyghurs as victims of ‘genocide’ in US report release
In addition to violations in Xinjiang, Li said the Chinese government is facilitating the forced transfer of Uyghur workers to other parts of China.
He added that this strategy hinders independent analysis of labor law violations while also helping to depopulate the province, which has been experiencing a constant influx of migrants from the country’s ethnic Han Chinese majority. .
“I think that was our message at the end of the day.” [to US companies operating abroad] In 2021 and 2023, we will not be able to conduct due diligence on Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region workers, and therefore will not be able to responsibly conduct business there. ”
Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said the Chinese government could have responded to international concerns and used this as an opportunity to abolish forced labor, but instead “limited the effectiveness of audits and “We have adopted laws, regulations, and practices that appear to be designed to expose them.” “violation.
“One example is the Foreign Sanctions Act, which was used to go after a U.S. due diligence firm that was collecting sensitive information related to Xinjiang,” he said.
“Secondly, Chinese authorities detained staff and another due diligence firm that was reportedly conducting an investigation,” he said, referring to an incident in March 2023 when Chinese police shut down Beijing airport. “This is an expanded definition of espionage that was carried out at the time of the incident.” He raided the offices of the consulting firm Mintz and detained employees in charge of Xinjiang inspections.
Lawmakers say U.S. law banning imports from Xinjiang has obvious weaknesses
Lawmakers say U.S. law banning imports from Xinjiang has obvious weaknesses
Rep. Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey and chairman of the committee, said U.S. lawmakers do not intend to “punish companies just for doing business in China.”
“Our goal is to improve the human rights situation in China and enable companies to demonstrate that their supply chains are free of forced labor and that their suppliers provide workers with good working conditions and wages. That’s the thing,” he said.
“And we ask these companies to work with us toward that goal.”
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said that the allegations of forced labor in China are “nothing but lies concocted by the US side for the purpose of unreasonably suppressing Chinese companies.”
