UN Report: 'Reasonable to Conclude' Forced Labor Regime Exists in China

MAY 29 2022·Updated AUG 18 2022

Story

Image credit: John Feng [via Newsweek]

The Facts

A UN special report published on Tues. said it was "reasonable to conclude" that state-backed forced labor among Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China has been occurring in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, particularly in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing.
Newsweek
Tomoya Obokata, the UN's special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, said in the report that evidence of forced labor existed within the region's system of "vocational skills education and training" centers, as well as a poverty alleviation program that involves transferring unemployed rural workers to other work.
Al Jazeera
Obokata recognized that these programs may create employment opportunities for minorities and improve their incomes, as is claimed by the Chinese government. However, he concluded that there are indicators pointing to the involuntary nature of work in many cases.
Reuters
The 20-page report - which is based on an independent assessment of available information including stakeholder submissions, victim testimony, and government accounts - also covered slavery-related issues and concerns in other countries.
BNN
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin rejected the findings and dismissed all accusations of abuse in Xinjiang. He also alleged that the special rapporteur had abused his power to "patently smear China and act as a political tool of anti-China forces."
BNN
Special rapporteurs are independent appointees asked to investigate specific rights issues in certain regions and to make policy recommendations. The office doesn't, however, represent an official UN position.
South China Morning Post

Sources Split

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The Spin

Anti-China narrative

The case substantiating allegations of Chinese atrocities in Xinjiang continues to build. It's now impossible for UN agencies and member states to ignore these crimes against humanity. The UN office on Genocide Prevention should immediately assess and respond to Chinese government actions against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in the region.

VOA

Pro-China narrative

Claims about forced labor in China are baseless accusations designed as a political tool to curb Chinese development, all under the pretext of human rights. The West should first confront their own abuses before smearing China; perhaps the US should be investigated for its reprehensible treatment of immigrants, or for its more than 500k child agricultural laborers working under extreme conditions with little to no protection.

Global Times