U.S. begins to enforce law on Uyghur forced labor prevention
The United States on Tuesday began enforcing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which requires companies that import goods from China’s Xinjiang region — where the U.S. accuses Beijing of grave human rights violations against Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities — to provide “clear and convincing evidence” that no component was produced with slave labor.
Uyghur Japanese runs for a seat in Japan’s parliament
A 33-year-old Uyghur Japanese national who emigrated from China’s northwestern Xinjiang region is running for a seat in Japan’s parliament. Arfiya Eri, who was educated in China, Japan and the U.S., worked for the United Nations before returning to Japan to run in July elections.
Uyghur American lawyer elected USCIRF chairman
Nury Turkel, a Uyghur American lawyer, was unanimously elected by the panel’s eight commissioners on Monday to chair the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan independent federal government body that reviews reported violations of religious freedom internationally and makes policy recommendations to the White House, State Department and Congress. Turkel was first appointed commissioner two years ago by House Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Foreign companies ask Beijing for third-party Xinjiang audits
Foreign companies in China are urging Beijing to permit third-party audits to ensure compliance with a new U.S. law barring goods produced by forced labor in Xinjiang.
US urges allies to rid global supply chains of goods made by forced labor
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that the country is rallying “allies and partners to make global supply chains free from the use of forced labor, to speak out against atrocities in Xinjiang, and to join” the U.S. in calling on China to end human rights abuses.
Report: Apparel brands still importing Uyghur forced labor goods
Dutch Daily on Friday reported that fashion brands such as C&A, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike and Calvin Klein are still selling clothing apparel made by Uyghur forced labor from China’s Xinjiang region.
New in brief
A group of lawyers representing Uyghurs in exile called Monday for the International Criminal Court to investigate China’s alleged rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim ethnic groups in the Xinjiang region while submitting a third set of evidence to The Hague-based court. They asked court officials to use a precedent set when it probed cross-border crimes committed by nonmember state Myanmar after thousands of Rohingya people were forced to flee to Bangladesh, an ICC member state.
Quote of note
"We are rallying our allies and partners to make global supply chains free from the use of forced labor, to speak out against atrocities in Xinjiang, and to join us in calling on the government of [the People's Republic of China] to immediately end atrocities and human rights abuses." — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
