United States President Joe Biden has signed the Uyghur Labour Prevention Act on December 23. The bi-partisan bill was passed earlier this month by the US House of Representatives with the aim of ensuring that goods made in forced labour camps in East Turkestan [Ch: Xinjiang, or the Uyghur Autonomous region of the People’s Republic of China] do not enter the United States market. The Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act bars any goods, wares, articles, mined merchandise, products or goods manufactured wholly or partly in East Turkestan entry at any port of the United States.
Earlier this year the US State Department recognised the atrocities against Uyghur minorities that are taking place in East Turkestan as genocide and crimes against humanity; this new law objects directly to such actions and prevents US businesses and consumers becoming part of it.
“Congress, on a bipartisan and bicameral basis, will continue to condemn and confront the CCP’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang and many other abuses in the region, from Hong Kong to Tibet to the mainland. If America does not speak out for human rights in China because of commercial interests, we lose all moral authority to speak out for human rights any place in the world,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as reported by Forbes.
The forced labour taking place in East Turkestan has been confirmed by the testimony of former camp detainees, satellite images, leaked official documents and official media reports. Earlier last year the Australian Strategic Policy Institute published a report Uyghurs for Sale which stated that more than 82 well known global brands have ties with factories exploiting force labour from minority communities in China. While some multinational businesses, including Nike, Coca Cola and Apple, have lobbied against the bill, a US-based non-government orgainsation, Justice for All, has welcomed the bill.
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