[CaptainCrunch]

https://globalnews.ca/news/6621998/u...=%40globalnews

Uighur labour in China has been implicated in the supply chain of dozens of well-known companies, including Apple, Amazon and Bombardier, according to a new report by an Australian think tank.


The report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute says that between 2017 and 2019, under a government policy called “Xinjiang Aid,” thousands of Uighurs were transferred out of the western region of Xinjiang to work in factories across China — “under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour.”


Based on official Chinese documents, satellite imagery, and media reports, the report estimates 80,000 Uighurs were transferred to factories around China: “… some of them were sent directly from detention camps.”

At least 27 factories across nine provinces were identified in the report as using Uighur workers from Xinjiang since 2017.


“Those factories claim to be part of the supply chain of 83 well-known global brands,” the report says.


One of the companies named in the report is Canada-based transport sector multinational Bombardier.

Other companies named in the report include Amazon and Apple. Global News reached out to both companies for comment and did not hear back as of Monday evening.



In a statement to Reuters, Apple said it is “dedicated to ensuring that everyone in our supply chain is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.”