Article Author:
Reuters
Martin Quinn Pollard
BEIJING — It is "reasonable to conclude" that forced labor of members of ethnic minority groups took place in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in western China, and the UN slavery, the country's top expert, said in a report released this week, prompting a fierce response from Beijing.
The findings "are based on an independent assessment of the available information," said Tomoya Obokata, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Modern Forms of Slavery, on his Twitter account on Tuesday. said in a report shared on the account.
“The Special Rapporteur reports that in Xinjiang, Xinjiang, forced labor is occurring among Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic minorities in areas such as agriculture and manufacturing. I think it is reasonable to conclude that it is being done. China."
China has rejected all accusations of abuse against Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang.
The report, dated 19 July, is available in the United Nations Document Library.
There are two different "state-mandated" systems in Xinjiang, he said. A system of vocational skills education and training centers where minorities are “detained and placed into employment” and poverty alleviation through a labor transfer system. Involve rural workers.
“These programs could create employment opportunities for minorities and increase their incomes, as the government argues, but the Special Rapporteur said We believe there are signs of forced labor that point to the involuntary nature of the work done, in many cases,” the 20-page report said, highlighting issues related to modern slavery and other countries. also raised concerns.
On Wednesday, China's foreign ministry denied there was forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and defended China's record of protecting workers' rights. He criticized the findings of the survey.
"A special rapporteur chose to believe the lies and disinformation about Xinjiang disseminated by the United States and other Western countries and anti-China forces," said China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. said at a daily press conference in Beijing.
Obokata's report is separate from the long-awaited report on human rights in Xinjiang being prepared by United Nations High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, who said that before resigning at the end of this month I promise to publish it.
Reuters reported last month that China was trying to block the release of Bachelet's report, citing a Chinese letter that was reviewed by Reuters and the diplomats who received it.
(Reporting by Martin Quin Pollard, Editing by Tony Munroe and Richard Pullin)
