New report, new alarm bells. The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats of the European Parliament (S&D) unveils, Wednesday December 6, a new investigation into the forced labor of Uyghurs, a Muslim people originating from western China, persecuted and oppressed by the Chinese government .
The report, commissioned by Socialist MEPs at Sheffield Hallam University in the United Kingdom, identifies 39 European brands trading in the European Union whose clothing is most likely made by Uyghurs. Among them, the textile giants Inditex (Zara, Pull & Bear…), H & M, Levi’s, Mango, but also premium brands such as Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, Burberry, Prada… The study was carried out in collaboration with the Uyghur Rights Observatory and the Uyghur Center for Democracy and Human Rights.
NGOs denounce “ethnocide”
Xinjiang, a region in the far west of China, produces on average 23% of the world’s cotton and 10% of PVC (polyvinyl chloride), an essential material for the manufacture of certain clothing such as raincoats. The Muslim Uighurs, who represent 45% of the population of this region of 25 million inhabitants, have suffered very violent repression from the Chinese state since the 2010s, described as« ethnocide » by NGOs.
In 2020, a first report from the Australian Institute for Political Strategy (Aspi) revealed to the whole world the involvement of subcontractors of major Western clothing brands in the exploitation of the Uyghur population. In 2022, the UN recognized the human rights violations of the Uyghur population by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), calling them “crimes against humanity”.
“Four years later (THE) revelations about Uyghur slavery, the problem remains (…) and European brands continue to profit from the crimes of the Chinese regime,” denounces Raphaël Glucksmann, MEP and co-president of Place publique.
For this new study, the British researchers took as a starting point four Chinese groups manufacturing clothing in Xinjiang (Zhejiang Sunrise/Smart Shirt, Beijing Guanghua, Anhui Huamao Group and Xinjiang Zhongtai) and looked at which European brands they supplied.
The report reveals that these companies “take measures to conceal their participation in the transfers of individuals (Uyghurs, Editor’s note) imposed by the state (Chinese, Editor’s note) »for example in “no longer mentioning their participation in the transfers, changing their company name and reorganizing their assets”. Operations that make the supply chains of European brands more opaque than they already are.
Duty of vigilance
“It is essential to hold multinationals accountable,” summarizes Raphaël Glucksmann.The MEP hopes that the publication of this new report will have influence in the trilogues between the Parliament, the Commission and the Council of the EU on new European legislation on international trade. “It is only with the adoption of these laws that the pyramid of irresponsibility created by unbridled globalization will be put to an end,” underlines the elected socialist.
Currently underway, the trilogue on the duty of vigilance could conclude next week, on December 13. The future directive aims to oblige companies present in the EU to prevent human rights violations and environmental damage throughout their value chain, including among their subcontractors.
This directive will be supplemented by a European regulation, debated in the coming months, which should prohibit the importation onto the European market of products resulting from forced labor. The S&D report recalls that in 2021, an estimated 28 million people were victims of forced labor worldwide, including 4 million forced by states – such as the Uighurs.
US bans products from Xinjiang
The future regulation is partly inspired by American legislation passed in 2021, which prohibits “imports from the Uyghur Autonomous Region and imposes sanctions on foreign persons responsible for forced labor in the region”. “Finally we are going to ban the products of Uighur slavery from our shelves. Finally, European consumers will no longer be complicit in a crime against humanity. rejoices Raphaël Glucksmann.
For their part, NGOs are still mobilizing to condemn the enslavement of the Uyghur people. In 2021, Sherpa and the Éthique sur l’Étiquette collective filed a complaint with the French courts for “concealment of crimes against humanity” against the owners of the brands Uniqlo, Zara, Sandro and Skechers, a case closed without further action. A new complaint was filed in 2023.
2023-12-06 18:55:55
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