8 The companies listed in this report should conduct immediate and thorough human rights due diligence on their factory labour in China, including robust and independent social audits and inspections. The Chinese government should uphold the civic, cultural and labour rights enshrined in China’s Constitution and domestic laws, end its extrajudicial detention of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, and ensure that all citizens can freely determine the terms of their own labour and mobility.Ĭompanies using forced Uyghur labour in their supply chains could find themselves in breach of laws which prohibit the importation of goods made with forced labour or mandate disclosure of forced labour supply chain risks. 7 This report exposes a new phase in China’s social re-engineering campaign targeting minority citizens, revealing new evidence that some factories across China are using forced Uyghur labour under a state-sponsored labour transfer scheme that is tainting the global supply chain. 6Ĭhina has attracted international condemnation for its network of extrajudicial ‘re-education camps’ in Xinjiang. 5 Numerous sources, including government documents, show that transferred workers are assigned minders and have limited freedom of movement. In factories far away from home, they typically live in segregated dormitories, 3 undergo organised Mandarin and ideological training outside working hours, 4 are subject to constant surveillance, and are forbidden from participating in religious observances. 2 The estimated figure is conservative and the actual figure is likely to be far higher. This report estimates that more than 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang to work in factories across China between 20, and some of them were sent directly from detention camps. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 82 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony and Volkswagen. The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority 1 citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country.