A report by an independent UN expert states that Chinese authorities are applying forced labor to members of the Muslim minority in China’s Xinjiang region. According to him, some situations may constitute “slavery”.
“The special rapporteur considers it reasonable to conclude that forced labor has occurred among Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic minorities in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing in China’s Xinjiang autonomous region,” the text published on Tuesday (16/08).
The Chinese Communist Party is accused of detaining at least 1 million Uighurs, primarily Muslims, and members of other minorities in detention areas in Xinjiang province, where detainees will be subjected to forced labor and sterilized women.
The US government and politicians from other Western countries have accused China of committing “genocide” against these minorities, but Beijing denies it. On Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry reacted angrily to the report’s completion.
In the report, the UN special rapporteur on modern slavery, Tomoya Obokata, highlights two “different state-oriented systems” involving cases of forced labor in China.
One includes vocational training centers where minorities are detained and forced to work. Second, it seeks to reduce poverty through the displacement of labour, which forces rural workers to engage in activities of the “secondary or tertiary sectors”.
“While these programs can create minority job opportunities and increase revenues, the special rapporteur considers that in many cases there are indicators of forced labor that point to the involuntary nature of work provided by affected communities,” the document said.
The nature and extent of the power exercised over workers – for example, extreme vigilance and abusive living and working conditions – may be “equivalent to slavery as a crime against humanity, something that would require independent analysis”.
The report points to a similar workforce transfer system in Tibet, where “the program transfers farmers, pastors and other rural workers to low-skilled and low compensation.”
Obokata contacted victims, analyzed independent research, and consulted government documents to write the report.
Special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. But they do not speak for the United Nations.
Beijing denies accusations
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday that Obokata “chosen to believe US lies and misinformation, some Western countries and anti-Chinese forces.” In his view, Obokata abuses his power, demoralizes China and acts as a “political tool” of anti-Beijing forces.
“There has never been forced labor in Xinjiang,” the spokesperson said, adding that China protects the rights of workers and minority members.
According to the Chinese government, Xinjiang’s vocational training centers aim to combat extremism.
But according to human rights activists, hundreds of thousands of uigures and other minority members have been sent to re-education grounds where they are overseen, live and work in precarious conditions, and are subjected to threats and physical or sexual violence.
In May, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, made a rare visit to China, including on a scale in Xinjiang.
The US government and human rights organizations criticized Bachelet for the trip, accusing her of not being tough enough on Beijing. He is required to publish a report on the matter before leaving office at the end of August.
source: Noticias
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