Forced Labour in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region

🌱 What has been alleged?

On 31 August 2022, the UN published a report that found that “serious human rights violations” – that “may constitute crimes against humanity” – had taken place in Xinjiang, China. The report outlined that Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim communities had been arbitrarily mass detained and subjected to forced labor in “re-education camps” or so-called “Vocational Educational and Training Centres” (VETCs). There have also been allegations of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities being subjected to torture, forced sterilization, sexual violence, political indoctrination, religious repression, and other forms of cultural erasure.

🌱 What is the scale?

Roughly two-thirds of the 26 million people living in Xinjiang belong to ethnic minorities, such as the Muslim Uygur and Kazakh groups. In April 2021, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) identified 385 detention sites based on their analysis of satellite imagery, eyewitness accounts, construction contracts, and leaked government documents. According to ASPI, these were built and expanded between 2017 and 2021. Human rights activists have estimated that over 1 million Uyghurs have endured political indoctrination, mass detention, and forced labour. Key industries accused of using forced labour in Xinjiang include polysilicon for photovoltaics, electric vehicles, and EV batteries.

🌱 How have the US and EU responded?

According to the UN, China still has “many problematic laws and policies” in place in Xinjiang. The US State Department has voiced disappointment that, over the past two years, the Chinese government has continued to reject the UN’s findings and refused to implement the recommendations it made. In line with this, the US and EU have introduced sanctions against Chinese officials and firms. They have also passed new legislation to limit the imports of goods suspected of being made with forced labour. Despite this, based on Chinese customs data, the EU’s “direct imports from Xinjiang [allegedly] rose by 170.6 per cent in July compared to a year earlier”.

🌱 What has China’s response been?

China has claimed that the individuals who were formerly at the VETCs have found better work and that they have therefore closed the VETCs in the meantime. In response to the measures taken by the US, legislators in Xinjiang have now said that they will “increase support for US-sanctioned enterprises, including via the legal system and overseas promotions”. In a resolution from 23 August 2024, the legislature notably called on “[t]he entire region [to] immediately take action to support the development of sanctioned enterprises and related industries”. More specifically, judicial authorities in Xinjiang are to “provide legal support to sanctioned enterprises so they can seek compensation from the US for losses caused”.