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MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION (2020/2913(RSP))

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

B-9-2020-0433

on behalf of the S&D Group · Rapporteur: Kati Piri

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Parliament's resolution condemns forced labour and the mass detention of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, including forced sterilisation and surveillance, and calls for the release of those detained. It urges China to ratify International Labour Organisation conventions and to allow access to Xinjiang for journalists, observers and UN experts. It calls on the Commission and member states to adopt mandatory human rights due diligence rules for companies, ban products made with forced labour from EU markets, and impose sanctions on those responsible. It asks the EU to condition the EU-China Investment Agreement on respect for human rights and to control exports of surveillance technology to China.

Key points

  1. Condemns forced labour of Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other Muslim minorities in factories in and outside internment camps in Xinjiang, and the transfer of forced labourers to other Chinese regions.
  2. Calls on private sector actors to assess their engagements in Xinjiang, conduct independent human rights audits of their supply chains, and end business relations that abet violations.
  3. Condemns the sending of hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and ethnic Kazakhs to political 're-education camps' and the use of digital surveillance and facial recognition to monitor the population.
  4. Calls on Chinese authorities to release those detained without evidence of criminal activity, close all camps and detention centres, and allow free access to Xinjiang for journalists, international observers, EU officials and UN experts.
  5. Condemns the campaign to suppress Uyghur birth-rates and calls for an immediate end to forced sterilizations, abortions and sanctions for birth control violations.
  6. Urges China to ratify and implement ILO Conventions 29, 105, 87 and 98 on forced labour, freedom of association and collective bargaining.
  7. Expresses concern over harassment of Uyghurs abroad and calls on the Commission and member states to investigate, protect the diaspora and expedite asylum requests.
  8. Calls on the EU and member states to monitor surveillance technology acquisitions and to refrain from giving providers such as Huawei access to public funding and procurement.
  9. Calls for the immediate release of Ilham Tohti and of all human rights defenders, activists, lawyers, journalists and petitioners detained for their work.
  10. Urges the Commission to table mandatory EU human rights due diligence legislation covering all sectors and companies, with enforcement and liability, and to update its 2006 decent work communication.
  11. Calls for a binding sustainable development chapter in the EU-China Investment Agreement, a ban on products made with forced labour from EU markets, and an import ban on Xinjiang cotton and products of listed companies.
  12. Calls on member states and the High Representative to adopt sanctions under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime against Chinese officials responsible for mass detention, forced labour and repression.

Who is affected

  • Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, who face detention, forced labour and birth control measures.
  • EU companies and global brands sourcing from Xinjiang, which are urged to audit supply chains and end abusive business relations.
  • Chinese officials responsible for detention, forced labour and repression, who may face EU sanctions.
  • The Xinjiang diaspora in the EU, for whom protection and expedited asylum procedures are sought.
  • China, which is urged to ratify ILO conventions, release detainees and allow access to Xinjiang.

Figures and deadlines

  • more than 10 million Muslim Uyghurs and Kazakhs live in Xinjiang
  • more than 1 million people are or have been detained in 'political re-education' centres
  • more than 380 suspected detention facilities newly built or expanded since 2017
  • at least 61 detention sites newly constructed or expanded between July 2019 and July 2020
  • over 880,000 Uyghur children placed in boarding facilities by the end of 2019
  • 80% of all new intrauterine device placements in China in 2018 performed in the Uyghur region, which makes up only 1.8% of China's population
  • 27 factories in nine Chinese provinces using the labour of at least 80,000 Uyghurs transferred from Xinjiang between 2017 and 2019
  • Xinjiang accounts for over 20% of global cotton production and 84% of Chinese cotton