Skip to content
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION (2020/2913(RSP))

On Forced labour and the situation of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region

B-9-2020-0432

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group · Rapporteur: Reinhard Bütikofer, Ernest Urtasun, Alviina Alametsä, Ignazio Corrao, Viola Von CramonTaubadel, Hannah Neumann, Gwendoline DelbosCorfield, Alice Kuhnke, Tineke Strik, Pär Holmgren, Jakop G. Dalunde, Saskia Bricmont, Anna Cavazzini, Bronis Ropė, Eleonora Evi

Official HTML ↗ PDF DOCX
✦ In shortFull text
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 29 Sept 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament's resolution condemns serious human rights violations against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, including mass detention, forced labour and cultural erasure. It calls on China to close camps, release detainees and allow access for observers, and urges EU action on supply chains, sanctions and investment rules. It asks the Commission to issue a supply chain advisory, adopt mandatory human rights due diligence legislation by the second quarter of 2021, and include forced labour commitments in the EU-China investment agreement. It calls for a UN fact-finding mission and investigation, targeted sanctions on named officials and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and measures for the Uyghur diaspora. It urges an EU strategy on human rights in China, export controls on cyber-surveillance technology, and a procurement policy that avoids companies linked to surveillance abuses.

Key points

  1. Condemns mass detention of Uyghurs and ethnic Kazakhs in political 're-education camps' based on predictive policing, and deplores systematic human rights violations amounting to crimes against humanity.
  2. Urges China to end arbitrary detention, close all camps and detention centres, and immediately release those detained.
  3. Condemns the government-led system of forced labour and the labour-transfer scheme involving Uyghur workers and ex-detainees in factories, including those supplying European companies.
  4. Calls for a presumption of forced labour by Chinese manufacturers supplying European companies, especially in textiles, and says companies in Xinjiang cannot comply with UN Guiding Principles.
  5. Asks the Commission to issue a supply chain business advisory to help companies identify risks and alternative sources of supply.
  6. Welcomes planned mandatory human rights due diligence legislation and calls for proposals by the second quarter of 2021, including a ban on placing goods made with forced labour on the EU market.
  7. Says the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment must include commitments against forced labour and that China should ratify ILO Conventions 29 and 105.
  8. Calls for free access to Xinjiang for journalists and international observers, a UN fact-finding mission and a Special Envoy, and for EU member states to support international statements.
  9. Calls on the HR/VP to push for a UN investigation into the internment camp system and requests a European Parliament mission to Xinjiang with free access.
  10. Believes China should be held accountable before international justice, calls for targeted sanctions on Chen Quanguo, Shohret Zakir and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and for action under the UN racial discrimination convention.
  11. Expresses concern over harassment of Uyghurs abroad, asks the Commission and member states to investigate and take measures for the diaspora, and encourages suspension of returns to China.
  12. Urges an EU strategy on human rights in China, ratification of the 1966 Covenant, export controls on cyber-surveillance technology, and a procurement policy avoiding companies like Hikvision.

Who is affected

  • Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, who face detention, forced labour and cultural erasure.
  • European and global companies sourcing from China, especially in textiles, at risk of using forced labour.
  • Chinese officials and entities named for sanctions: Chen Quanguo, Shohret Zakir and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
  • Uyghur diaspora abroad, facing harassment and potential return to China.
  • EU institutions and member states, called to act on sanctions, supply chains and human rights strategy.

Figures and deadlines

  • 65 percent of Xinjiang's 16,000 mosques destroyed or damaged, mostly since 2017.
  • More than 380 suspected detention facilities newly built or expanded since 2017, and at least 61 between July 2019 and July 2020.
  • Over 880,000 Uyghur children placed in boarding facilities by end of 2019, an increase of nearly 383,000 since 2017.
  • At least 80,000 Uyghurs transferred out of Xinjiang to factories in other provinces between 2017 and 2019.
  • More than 80 percent of Chinese cotton produced in Xinjiang; China represents around 22 percent of global cotton market in 2018-19.
  • Less than 1% of overall Chinese cotton is exported.
  • Ilham Tohti sentenced to life imprisonment on 23 September 2014; seven students sentenced to between three and eight years.
  • List of more than 2,000 Uighur detainees held in Aksu prefecture between 2016 and 2018.