US slams China’s effort to ‘manipulate’ UN envoy’s Xinjiang visit
Al JazeeraDec 26, 2021
UN Report: 'Reasonable to Conclude' Forced Labor Regime Exists in China
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Image copyright: 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.
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.
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.
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.
