Xinjiang: UN report finds it ‘reasonable to conclude’ forced labour is occurring in autonomous region

A United Nations expert on slavery has found it “reasonable to conclude” that forced labour is taking place in the China’s far-western region of Xinjiang.

In a report released on Tuesday, the UN’s special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Tomoya Obokata, said that evidence pointed to forced labour “among Uygur, Kazakh and other ethnic minorities in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing”.

While it does not represent an official UN position – rapporteurs are independent appointees asked to investigate specific rights issues in specific regions and make recommendations – it is among the most critical of China’s human rights record to have come from within the body.

Obokata’s assessment was made following an “independent assessment of available information, including submissions by stakeholders, independent academic research, open sources, testimonies of victims, consultations with stakeholders, and accounts provided by the government”.

It arrives ahead of a hotly anticipated report by the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights into conditions in Xinjiang, which is expected before the end of August.

Elizabeth Throssell, a spokeswoman for the human rights office, said that report was still expected before Michelle Bachelet, the high commissioner, leaves office later this month.

The Chinese government was quick to dispute the rapporteur’s findings, accusing Obokata of “abusing his authority” to “malignly smear and denigrate China and serve as a political tool for anti-China forces”.