It is “reasonable to conclude” that forced labour of members of minority groups has taken place in China’s western Xinjiang region, the UN’s top expert on slavery said in a report released this week. This led to a furious rection from Beijing.
The findings were “based on an independent assessment of available information”, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Tomoya Obokata, said in a report that he shared on his Twitter account on Tuesday.
My report to #HRC51 on contemporary #slavery affecting #minorities is now available ⬇️https://t.co/jtBCdUz3Yo.
I highlight vulnerabilities & exploitation among #Uyghur, #Yazidi, #Rohingya & #Roma people, #Dalits/#CDWD, people of #AfricanDescent, #migrantworkers & more.
— UN Special Rapporteur Tomoya Obokata (@TomObokata) August 16, 2022
“The Special Rapporteur regards it as reasonable to conclude that forced labour among Uighur, Kazakh and other ethnic minorities in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing has been occurring in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China,” it said.
China has rejected claims that it has abused Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang.
The report, dated July 19, is publicly available in a UN documents library, according to Reuters.
