From London, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is expected to address domestic concerns and criticism of Britain’s complicity in forced labor in Xinjiang this week by imposing more restrictive requirements on companies buying goods there, as well as possible sanctions on Chinese officials believed to have played a significant role in related human rights abuses.
The Guardian reported on January 10 that the proposals to be released by Raab this week may include penalties from the British government if the companies involved fail to fulfill their commitments to show due diligence in preventing forced labor in their supply chains. The report said that the proposal for a total ban on the procurement of Xinjiang cotton is not considered feasible. Raab and Trade Secretary Liz Truss will announce these specific measures in the House of Commons of the British Parliament on Wednesday. With the human rights and forced labor issues of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang receiving widespread media attention, there are increasing calls for the British government to take countermeasures from within the ruling Conservative Party in the British Parliament and from several political parties, including the opposition Labour Party.
The report said that the measures to be announced by the British side are also a result of the Conservative Human Rights Committee’s (CPHRC) call for the government to take more measures to address the Chinese challenge. Marks & Spencer signed a “call to action” on June 6 to boycott forced labor products from Xinjiang, which uses about 40,000 tons of cotton lint obtained from various sources each year. Previously, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on Dec. 2 last year that it would detain shipments containing cotton and cotton products from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) at all ports of entry into the United States. The hold order is the sixth enforcement action announced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection against forced labor products from the Xinjiang region in the past three months or so.
The Foreign Office does not believe its supply chain measures represent a clear new position on British-Chinese relations, nor would it propose sanctions against officials involved in the crackdown on democratic autonomy in Hong Kong, the newspaper said. But China’s outgoing ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming, said last week that relations between the two countries “depend on whether Britain sees China as a partner or a competitor, whether it respects China’s core interests and major concerns, and whether it abides by the basic norms of international relations, including non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.” It is understood that Raab and Truss are expected to announce that they will expand the number of agencies with reporting obligations under the U.K. Modern Slavery Act (MSA); introduce binding rules on the content, timing and publication of modern slavery statements; and propose the creation of a single enforcement agency to oversee compliance with the law. In addition, the British side is considering limited financial or civil penalties for organizations that do not comply with the law.
The report said that as many as five other Chinese officials are being considered by the British for Magnitsky Act sanctions, targeting those involved in human rights abuses. In response, the British Foreign Office declined to discuss in advance who might soon be sanctioned. A British Foreign Office spokesman said, “Our approach to China is rooted in our values and interests. But if we have concerns, we will raise them and hold China to account. We have always done so in relation to the treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.” Two select committees of the British Parliament’s House of Commons are investigating the issue of forced labor in Xinjiang. As mentioned above, many fashion brands are increasingly concerned that they will be exposed as sourcing cotton from Xinjiang and are beginning to scramble to make commitments to their supply chains as public awareness of related issues grows in the UK.
The paper said Raab will also set out his opposition to a cross-party amendment in the House of Lords. The amendment gives British courts the right to declare whether the state as a unit has committed genocide. A group of Conservative House of Commons members are supporting the amendment passed by the House of Lords. The amendment proposes that if the British High Court makes a preliminary assessment that the country has committed or is committing genocide, it would require the British government to refrain from entering into bilateral trade agreements with the countries in question, including with China. The amendment was co-sponsored by former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith and Labour Party human rights barrister Helena Kennedy, among others. The British government, for its part, is reportedly opposed to the measure on the grounds that it believes the finding of genocide should be decided by an international tribunal.
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