Blog post by Omer Kanat, UHRP Executive Director– 2 min read
In March, UHRP thanked Senator Rubio (R) and Representative McGovern (D) for introducing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in the Senate (S.3471) and the House (H.R.6210). As I said then, for companies to continue business as usual would be a green light for China’s atrocities.
UHRP strongly endorses this legislation and calls on governments around the world to apply joint pressure on the Chinese government to end its human-rights crimes against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims.
Contact your Senators to urge them to co-sponsor S.3471
Contact your Representative to urge co-sponsoring H.R. 6210
Key provisions of the Act are outlined in a one-page summary here, and include:
- A finding that there is a “very high risk” that many factories and other suppliers in East Turkistan are exploiting forced labor, and that corporate “due diligence” regarding supply chains is not possible due to mass surveillance, pervasive police presence, and harsh intimidation of workers.
- A shift in the burden of proof for companies, in order to comply with U.S. laws prohibiting the import of forced labor goods. The legislation would create a “rebuttable presumption” that goods produced in East Turkistan are made with forced labor. Before allowing such goods to be imported, U.S. border authorities would require “clear and convincing evidence” that they were not produced with forced labor, in whole or in part.
- A requirement that the U.S. government impose Global Magnitsky sanctions on foreign persons who knowingly engage in Uyghur forced labor or attempt to violate U.S. law on importation of forced labor goods.
- A requirement that the Secretary of State provide to Congress:
- a list of Chinese entities that use Uyghur forced labor,
- a list of products made by forced labor, and
- a list of businesses that have sold such products in the U.S.
This post was originally published on UYGHUR HUMAN RIGHTS PROJECT BLOG.
