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A Uyghur organization and a human rights group are taking the UK government to court to challenge Britain's failure to block the import of cotton products associated with forced labour and other abuses in China's far western Xinjiang region. Tuesday's hearing at the High Court in London is believed the first time a foreign court hears legal arguments from the Uyghurs over the issue of forced labor in Xinjiang. The region is a major global supplier of cotton, but rights groups have long alleged that the cotton is picked and processed by China's Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in a widespread, state-sanctioned system of forced labour. The case, brought by the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress and the Global Legal Action Network, a nonprofit, is one of several similar legal challenges aimed at putting pressure on the U.K. and European Union governments to follow the lead of the United States, where a law took effect this year to ban all cotton products suspected of being mad
Taken by surprise over the release of UN Human Rights assessment accusing China of "serious human rights violations" against Uygur Muslims in the restive Xinjiang province, Beijing on Thursday denounced it as a US-orchestrated report to contain it and termed the damning document as "illegal, null and void." The much-awaited report by outgoing UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, who earlier visited Xinjiang after a long diplomatic tussle with Beijing, was released by her in Geneva in dramatic fashion, much to the surprise of China which had studiously opposed its release. "The so-called assessment is orchestrated and produced by the US and some western forces. It is completely illegal and null and void," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here while slamming the report. Bachelet, the former President of Chile, who came under immense pressure, finally brushed aside Beijing's opposition and released the report on the last day of her office on ...
The White House has urged private companies to oppose the human rights abuses and genocide by China in Xinjiang.This comes after Tesla, a US-based vehicle manufacturer, opened a showroom in the region in China, Kyodo News reported.At a news conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that private sector companies that fail to address forced labor and human rights abuses within their supply chains face "serious legal, reputational, and customer risk," both internationally and in the US."I can't speak to the specific situation of one company, but as a general matter, we believe the private sector should oppose the PRC's human rights abuses and genocide in Xinjiang," Psaki said.In recent times, the US has ramped up its campaign against China for repressing religious minorities in Xinjiang.Recently, the administration of President Joe has decided on a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics next month in a show of protest over China's human rights abuses.The president