'Reasonable to conclude' that forced labour occurs in China's Xinjiang: UN report

A United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Modern Slavery's report has termed it "reasonable to conclude" that forced labour occurs in China's Xinjiang province. The details regarding the report, along with a copy of the report have been revealed by China researcher Adrian Zenz on Twitter. The report has indicated that Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Turkic groups face "repressive and abusive practices" as per the Chinese state-mandated forced labour system. 

The Special Rapporteur, Tomoyo Obokata has revealed that the "nature and extent of power exercised" implies that "some instances" may lead to "enslavement as a crime against humanity. Notably, UN human rights experts have expressed concerns over the alleged detention and forced labour of Muslim Uyghurs in China. Notably, the US has banned the products manufactured with forced labour in China's Xinjiang province from being imported to Washington. Reportedly, Uyghur workers have been facing exploitative working and living conditions like detention and forced labour. 

WUC calls on world to acknowledge report's findings & take action

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has welcomed the UN report. Dolkun Isa, President of Uyghur in a statement said, "The Special Rapporteur has concluded what those of us in the Uyghur advocacy movement have been saying for years." Isa further stated that "forced labour programmes have weaponised a tool of genocide by the Chinese Communist Party." He stressed that companies around the world continue to earn profit from atrocity and the governments do not take steps to stop it from happening. 

Dolkun Isa called the report a "wake-up call" for those who do not take action on the "proliferation of Uyghur forced labour made goods in global supply chains." Meanwhile, the World Uyghur Congress urged governments and companies around the world to acknowledge the findings of the report and take measures to not take part in crimes against "humanity and modern atrocity." The World Uyghur Congress has requested UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to release her report regarding the human rights situation in Xinjiang. 

China using anti-crime campaign to target Uyghurs

China has been reportedly using its anti-crime campaign in the Xinjiang region to target Uyghurs. The anti-crime campaign was initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping's close ally Wang Xiaohong to remove criminal forces and ensure political security in the country. Authorities in Xinjiang have been reportedly making use of the government's 100-day crackdown policy to target Uyghurs who have been considered "religious extremists" and "two-faced," Radio Free Asia quoted a police officer in the city as saying. The campaign has impacted the Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang who have been reportedly facing oppressive policies for years. 

(With inputs from ANI, Image: AP)