Calling for action against human rights abuses of the Uighurs

Uighurs

There is overwhelming evidence that the Chinese regime has been engaging in state-sponsored ethnic cleansing. Recently, a video re-emerged on social media, showing shaved men and women blindfolded and marched on to trains in Xinjiang. Women have shared stories of sexual abuse, with some reporting that they were forced to undergo abortions, have contraceptive devices implanted, or be fully sterilised. Population growth rates in the Uighur heartland plummeted by 84% between 2015 and 2018.
 
I have received an overwhelming volume of correspondence on the issue from Wealden residents. Like them, I am deeply concerned about China’s actions in Xinjiang. China’s suppression of human rights meets the United Nations definition of genocide and it amounts to the largest incarceration of an ethno-religious minority since the Holocaust.

I urge the Foreign Secretary to use the United Kingdom’s moral and legal authority to proceed quickly on the basis of the overwhelming evidence in Xinjiang and I am calling for the The Magnitsky sanctions announced by the Foreign Secretary in July 2020 to also apply to those that violate human rights of the Uighurs in Xinjiang.

I have written various articles on the topic for national media. You can read them by clicking on the links below:

  • The Telegraph, 10 July 2020: "We must not stay silent on China's ethnic cleansing of Uighur Muslims" - Available here.
  • The Telegraph, 20 July 2020: "The only moral option we have is to defend the Uighur people from the Chinese state" - Available here.
  • Politics Home, 22 July 2020:  "The incarceration of the Uighurs is a nightmare we have a moral duty to end" - Available here.
  • Jewish News, 22 August 2020: "Jewish News leads call for MPs to pressure China over Uighurs" - Available here.
  • Jewish News, 1 October 2020: "150 MPs and peers back Jewish News Uyghur campaign" - Available here.
  • The House Magazine, 1 October 2020, "Britain must not be a safe haven for businesses profiting from Uyghur forced labour" - Available here.
  • The Times: 5 November 2020: "Companies in Britain should not profit from Uighur exploitation" - Available here (PDF version attached below)
  • Conservative Home, 18 November 2020: "The Government must act to ban British companies from exploiting slave labour" - Available here.
  • Jewish News, 19 November 2020: "Jewish News’ Uyghur petition delivered to 10 Downing Street" - Available here. ( Front Page image is attached below)
  • Jewish News 14 January 2021: "We can halt the Uyghur genocide by ending business as usual" - Available here.

I have also spoken about the issue on Good Morning Britain (coverage here), on BBC Radio 4 (coverage here) and on LBC Radio (coverage here).

Leading the Genocide Amendment to the Trade Bill

Nus has raised human rights attrocities in China with Government many times over the past year. But vicious circle at the heart of the international legal order has made it impossible for successive UK governments to act in the face of genocide of the kind the world has witnessed in China against Uyghur.

Nus is currently leading the Genocide Amendment to the Trade Bill, which will allow Government and the courts to take meaningful action. 

Nus Ghani said: "As we trade with new partners, we must honour a sacrosanct responsibility never to let economic concerns trump ethical ones by dealing with genocidal states."

Click here to watch a video to learn about the atrocities against Uyghur in China and how you can help. Nus has also written an article for the Times. Click here to find out more.

Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee Inquiry

I am currently leading a parliamentary select committee inquiry which will explore the extent to which business in the UK are exploiting the forced labour of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. This inquiry will help to get a clearer picture of the extent of the problem regarding UK-Xinjiang supply chains and recommend what steps the government could take to ensure that businesses and consumers in the UK do not perpetuate forced labour and human rights violations. For more information, please click here.

Read the media coverage below:

  • Exotextile, 16 October 2020: "Inquiry questions fashion brands linked with Xinjiang" - Available here.
  • Yahoo!Finance, 16 October 2020: "Amazon, Nike, and IKEA questioned by MPs over alleged forced labour links" - Available here.
  • City AM, 16 October 2020: "H&M, Amazon and Boohoo among retailers to be quizzed by MPs over Uyghur slave labour links" - Available here.
  • Forbes, 18 October 2020: "Is Beijing Building New Detention Centers?" - Available here.
  • Drapers, 19 October 2020: "MPs calls on retailers in forced labour inquiry" - Available here.
  • Personnel Today, 19 October 2020: "PwC to resign as Boohoo auditor after working conditions inquiry" - Available here.
  • Daily Express, 20 October 2020: "China ROW: MPs erupt as UK relied on Beijing for PPE worth MILLIONS – ‘Dependent on China" - Available here.
  • The Telegraph, 31 October 2020: "MPs to quiz brands over Uighur labour risk" - Available here.
  • The Daily Telegraph, 4 November 2020: "Fashion brands 'can't rule out' links to Uighur forced labour" (PDF version attached below)
  • Business Insider, 5 November 2020: "A senior TikTok executive admitted the company used to censor content critical of China, 'specifically with regard to the Uighur situation'" - Available here.
  • Yahoo!Finance, 5 November 2020: "Boohoo, Nike and H&M deny Uighur forced labour in supply chains" - Available here.
  • The Herald, 5 November 2020: "Boohoo, Nike and H&M deny Uighur forced labour in supply chains" - Available here.
  • Kent Online, 5 November 2020: "Boohoo, Nike and H&M deny Uighur forced labour in supply chains" - Available here.
  • Reuters, 5 November 2020: "UK to big brands: do more to avoid forced labour in China's Xinjiang" - Available here.
  • EcoTextile, 5 November 2020: "Boohoo commits to map its entire supply chain" - Available here.
  • Just-Style, 5 November 2020: "UK holds hearing on exploitation of forced labour in Xinjiang" - Available here.
  • The Telegraph, 5 November 2020: "UK lawmakers invited to review TikTok's algorithm" - Available here (PDF version attached below)
  • Retail Gazette, 6 November 2020: "Boohoo, Nike and H&M deny Uighur forced labour in supply chains" - Available here.
  • The Times, 6 November 2020: "Fashion brands Nike and Boohoo deny link to Uighur forced labour in China" - Available here (PDF version attached below)
  • Daily Mail, 6 November 2020: "Bosses avoid the firing line in Boohoo staff scandal" (PDF version attached below)
  • The ‘I’, 6 November 2020: "Boohoo and Nike 'shocked' at forced labour reports" (PDF version attached below)
  • Personnel Today, 9 November 2020: "MPs shine a light into dark corners of fashion supply chains" - Available here.
  • Yahoo!Sports, 15 November 2020: "£14bn of UK products imported from 'dubious supply chains'" - Available here.

Other media coverage:

  • Jewish News, 8 January 2021: "Twitter urged to act on China’s ‘violent propaganda’ about Uyghur Muslim women" - Available here.
  • Jewish News, 14 January 2021: "MPs call for political action against China over Uyghur persecution" - Available here.

I have written to a range of businesses in sectors including fashion, retail and information technology, to seek answers in relation to the Committee’s inquiry exploring the extent to which businesses in the UK are exploiting the forced labour of Uyghur in the Xinjiang region of China.The letters include questions around supply-chain transparency and regarding evidence of compliance with labour, procurement and anti-slavery laws.

We have written to the following companies: Adidas, Amazon, BooHoo Group, Gap (Gap Inc.), H&M Group, IKEA, Marks and Spencer, Nike, Puma, Stella McCartney, The North Face (VF Corporation), The Walt Disney Company, TikTok (ByteDance), Victoria’s Secret, Zara (Inditex). The letters are available below:

  1. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to Adidas 
  2. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to Amazon
  3. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to BooHoo Group
  4. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to Gap (Gap Inc.)
  5. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to H&M Group
  6. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to IKEA
  7. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to Marks and Spencer
  8. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to Nike
  9. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to Puma
  10. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to Stella McCartney
  11. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to The North Face (VF Corporation)
  12. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to The Walt Disney Company
  13. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to TikTok (ByteDance)
  14. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to Victoria’s Secret
  15. Letter from the Chair and Nusrat Ghani MP to Zara (Inditex)

Attachments

Attachment Size
The Times, 5 November 2020, "Companies in Britain should not profit from Uighur exploitation" (438 KB) 438 KB
The Times, 6 November 2020: "Fashion brands Nike and Boohoo deny link to Uighur forced labour in China" (756.78 KB) 756.78 KB
The Daily Telegraph, 4 November 2020: "Fashion brands 'can't rule out' links to Uighur forced labour"  (21.7 KB) 21.7 KB
The ‘I’, 6 November 2020: "Boohoo and Nike 'shocked' at forced labour reports" (102.38 KB) 102.38 KB
Daily Mail, 6 November 2020: "Bosses avoid the firing line in Boohoo staff scandal" (101.23 KB) 101.23 KB
The Telegraph, 5 November 2020: "UK lawmakers invited to review TikTok's algorithm" (508.44 KB) 508.44 KB
Jewish News Front Page, 19 November 2020 (154.2 KB) 154.2 KB

News

150 MPs and peers back Jewish News Uyghur campaign

I am working with The Jewish News to help end the plight of Uighur slave camps. I am grateful to the 150 colleagues from across the House of Commons and House of Lords that have come together to support the campaign and denounce the horrific human rights abuses of Uighur minorities.

The incarceration of the Uighurs is a nightmare we have a moral duty to end

We cannot pick and choose which human rights abuses we acknowledge. The UK must send a clear message to all those who would threaten human dignity - no matter how big and mighty they may be.

Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner and I have written an article for Politics Home. Read it here.