Big brands, are they 'torturers' of Uyghurs?

For a long time, the fate of the Uyghur community in China has worried and scandalized. Almost every day articles are published on the subject.

Does the world of fashion have to worry about having taken advantage of heinous misdeeds? In a statement released Thursday, July 23 and picked up by The Guardian, an association of human rights groups (180 in total) launched a shock wave. "Almost the entire (global) ready-to-wear industry profits from the forced labor of Uighurs and Turkish-speaking Muslims ", can we read in the text. It should be noted that the largest cotton producer in the world is China, with 84% of its total production coming from the Xinjiang region.

"The forced labor system in the region is the largest ethnic and religious minority internment program since World War II," said added Uyghur defenders. According to them, the internments were most often accompanied by torture, separation and even forced sterilization of the women.

Beijing denies and defends itself by speaking of "training centers and training professionals "intended to support employment and combat religious extremism.

For Anti-Slavery International, it is "very likely that all brands, consumer or luxury, are related to what is happening to the Uyghur people ". In a letter to the UK government, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) said there was "overwhelming evidence" that Uighurs were being used for forced labor in the industry. cotton in China, relayed by Reuters.

"The only way for brands to ensure that they do not profit from this exploitation is to leave the region and end their relationship with the suppliers who support this system put in place by the Chinese government. ", explained Jasmine O'Connor OBE, CEO of Anti-Slavery International, in the famous letter.

The major brands involved brands have responded to the charges. Nike, for example, claimed that the company "was constantly vigilant with its suppliers in China to identify and assess the potential risks associated with the employment of Uyghurs or other ethnic minorities," according to the BBC .

For its part, the PVH group, which owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, announced "ctry any business relationship with factories and spinning mills that produce clothing and fabric in Xinjiang or source cotton from the region within the next 12 months ", according to New York Times. According to a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), released this year, Apple, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, and others, have worked with some of the 11 Chinese companies suspected of human rights abuses , listed in the economic blacklist of the US Department of Commerce, relayed by the media L'Opinion.

The Australian Institute for Political Strategy indicates that the 83 brands * cited were "possibly unconscious"of the practices of the subcontractors employed.

In France, the government has proposed an "international mission emanating from independent observers", "under the leadership" of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Before the National Assembly, on July 28, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian denounced "unjustifiable practices that go against the universal principles enshrined in the major international human rights conventions". And he continued by recalling "the internment of Uyghurs in camps, massive detentions, forced labor, forced sterilizations, the destruction of the cultural heritage of the Uyghurs (…), the general surveillance of the population, a system comprehensive repression throughout the region ".

* The 83 brands: Abercrombie & Fitch, Acer, Adidas, Alstom, Amazon, Apple, ASUS, BAIC Motor, BMW, Bombardier, Bosch, BYD, Calvin Klein, Candy, Carter's, Cerruti 1881, Changan Automobile, Cisco, CRRC, Dell , Electrolux, Fila, Founder Group, GAC Group (automobiles), Gap, Geely Auto, General Motors, Google, Goertek, H&M, Haier, Hart Schaffner Marx, Hisense, Hitachi, HP, HTC, Huawei, iFlyTek, Jack & Jones, Jaguar, Japan Display Inc., LLBean, Lacoste, Land Rover, Lenovo, LG, Li-Ning, Mayor, Meizu, Mercedes-Benz, MG, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, Mitsumi, Nike, Nintendo, Nokia, Oculus, Oppo, Panasonic , Polo Ralph Lauren, Puma, Roewe, SAIC Motor, Samsung, SGMW, Sharp, Siemens, Skechers, Sony, TDK, Tommy Hilfiger, Toshiba, Tsinghua Tongfang, Uniqlo, Victoria's Secret, Vivo, Volkswagen, Xiaomi, Zara, Zegna, ZTE .

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