A British court has ordered a reconsideration of a potential investigation into cotton imports suspected to be produced using slave labor in China’s Xinjiang region. This decision comes after a legal challenge by the World Uyghur Congress, an organization representing exiled Uyghur people.
The Uyghur group argued that Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) wrongly dismissed their request for an investigation.
The World Uyghur Congress claims that cotton from Xinjiang is produced using forced labor from detained and imprisoned Uyghurs, a Muslim minority group.
China denies these accusations, calling them lies fabricated to target Chinese businesses.
Previously, a judge acknowledged evidence of forced labor in Xinjiang cotton production. However, the initial legal challenge was rejected because it couldn’t conclusively link specific imported cotton products to forced labor.
The Court of Appeal disagreed with this approach, requiring the NCA to re-evaluate whether to launch an investigation based on the broader evidence of potential criminality within the cotton supply chain.
This ruling is seen as a major win for the World Uyghur Congress, who believe it’s a significant step towards holding China accountable for human rights abuses.
Image—Sandra Sanders
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