China: the report of an independent UN expert evokes "forced labor" in Xinjiang
One of the "vocational education and training centers" created according to Beijing to fight terrorism and Islamic radicalism in Xinjiang, December 3, 2018. © Ng Han Guan / AP
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It is one of the most critical reports on human rights in China published to date by the United Nations.
According to a report by an independent UN expert dated Tuesday August 16, the Muslim ethnic minorities of Xinjiang in western China are forced into forced labor.
A conclusion immediately denied by Beijing.
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With our correspondent in Beijing,
Stéphane Lagarde
This report does not represent the official position of the UN, but this did not prevent Beijing from reacting.
“
There has never been forced labor in Xinjiang
,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
He denounces what he calls "
abuse of power
" by the Japanese Tomoya Obokata, United Nations special rapporteur on contemporary slavery and author of the report.
In a study based on NGO reports, testimonies of victims, but also on official Chinese sources, Tomoya Obokata notes the establishment of "
education and vocational training centers
" created according to Beijing to fight against terrorism and Islamic radicalism in Xinjiang.
He also notes the implementation of poverty reduction programs via the transfer of labor from the Uyghur or Kazakh ethnic minorities to factories in other provinces.
Conventions on forced labor just signed
“
These programs can create employment opportunities for minorities and improve their income
,” the special rapporteur underlines in remarks reported by
the
South China Morning Post
.
But “
the extent of the powers exercised over the workers concerned
” and the surveillance to which these workers are subject “
may in some cases amount to slavery
”.
To counter criticism, China ratified two International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions on forced labor six days ago.
A way also to try to defuse
the "investigation
" of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Xinjiang, expected by the end of August, before the departure of Michelle Bachelet who was able to go to China
in the spring of 2022
.
►Also read: Xinjiang: The "Chinese dream" has become the nightmare of the Uyghurs
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