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UK cotton imports from China under scrutiny over forced Uighur labour

A 60-page document submitted to the British government last week set out the legal case for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to ban all cotton originating in the Xinjiang region of China.

The submission made by Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), together with activist group the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), comes amid growing concerns that Uighur Muslims are being transferred to factories across China to replace workers during the coronavirus lockdown.

https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2020/4/30/uk-cotton-imports-under-scrutiny-over-forced-uighur-labour

The submission argues that forced labour is on such a scale that current imports "violate UK laws, including 19th century legislation prohibiting the importation of prison-made goods, and should be halted by the UK's customs authorities."


China's cotton industry provides nearly a quarter of the global supply and 84 percent of the national output comes from Xinjiang, according to the CPI report. But rights groups are concerned that it is impossible to verify claims from Chinese authorities that this cotton is being ethically supplied.


Reply 1
Avatar for Napp
Napp
22
I'm trying to think of many major cotton suppliers who produce 'ethical' cotton. Although China is a veritable paragon of virtue to the Uzbeks :lol:
Reply 2
Avatar for z-hog
z-hog
13
It's so much easier to signal our virtue over foreign affairs, instead of talking about forced labour in the UK. It's all talk designed to attract attention upon themselves, none of this has any effect in the real world.
Reply 3
Avatar for Ascend
Ascend
OP
13
Original post by z-hog
It's so much easier to signal our virtue over foreign affairs, instead of talking about forced labour in the UK. It's all talk designed to attract attention upon themselves, none of this has any effect in the real world.

Local issues are not the concern of the Global Legal Action Network and the World Uyghur Congress who brought this case to the HMRC.

As for forced labour inside the UK, it does not go unattended.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/05/world/europe/uk-modern-slavery.html

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