Genocide Watch Calls to Ban Uyghur Forced-Labor Goods, Support Uyghur Communities

By Uyghur Times | January 2025

Genocide Watch has issued a “Genocide Emergency” warning for the Uyghur homeland, urging the United States and the United Nations to take immediate action against what it describes as ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity committed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against Uyghurs and other Turkic people.

In its latest assessment, Genocide Watch calls on governments to ban imports of Chinese goods produced through Uyghur forced labor and to expand protection and support for Uyghur communities, including refugees and asylum seekers forced to flee persecution.

Genocide Watch is a respected international organization that provides early-warning analysis on genocide and mass atrocities and advises governments and UN bodies on prevention and accountability.

Forced Labor as State Policy

According to Genocide Watch, since 2017 between 800,000 and 2 million Uyghurs have been arbitrarily detained in so-called “reeducation camps” across the Uyghur homeland, officially referred to by China as “Xinjiang.” Inside these facilities, detainees are subjected to forced CCP indoctrination, torture, sexual violence, and systematic cultural erasure.

After release, many Uyghurs are transferred into forced labor programs in cotton fields and factories, a practice Genocide Watch describes as state-imposed slavery. The organization states that forced labor in the Uyghur homeland is not incidental, but a central component of CCP policy, with Uyghurs compelled to work in Han Chinese- or CCP-controlled factories.

International scrutiny of supply chains linked to the Uyghur homeland has already led some multinational corporations, including Volkswagen, to exit the region. Genocide Watch urges the U.S., EU, and UN member states to strictly prohibit imports connected to Uyghur forced labor and to implement comprehensive supply-chain enforcement mechanisms.

Support for Uyghur Communities and Refugees

Genocide Watch stresses that banning forced-labor goods must be accompanied by humanitarian protection for Uyghurs worldwide. The organization calls on UN member states to ensure access to asylum, legal assistance, and resettlement programs for Uyghur refugees.

It also urges governments to provide institutional and financial support for Uyghur communities abroad, many of whom face harassment, surveillance, and transnational repression by Chinese authorities.

Mass Surveillance and Cultural Erasure

The Uyghur homeland is described as one of the most heavily surveilled regions in the world. Genocide Watch documents widespread use of AI-powered facial recognition, biometric data collection, and dense police checkpoints, disproportionately targeting Uyghurs and restricting freedom of movement and religion.

Uyghur language use is banned inside detention camps, thousands of mosques have been demolished or damaged, and Uyghur children are removed from their families and placed in Mandarin-only boarding schools. Genocide Watch states that the removal of children constitutes genocide under Article 2(e) of the UN Genocide Convention.

Genocide Classification and International Responsibility

Using its Ten Stages of Genocide framework, Genocide Watch classifies the CCP’s actions in the Uyghur homeland as reaching the most severe stages, including Persecution, Extermination, and Denial. The organization warns that continued international inaction enables further atrocities.

Among its key recommendations, Genocide Watch calls on:

• The United States and UN member states to ban imports produced with Uyghur forced labor
• Governments to block investments in Chinese companies exploiting Uyghur labor
• The U.S. and European Union to halt exports of surveillance and AI technologies used against Uyghurs
• International institutions to support Uyghur refugees and diaspora communities worldwide

Genocide Watch concludes that decisive action—particularly targeting forced labor supply chains and protecting Uyghurs abroad—is essential to halting the ongoing genocide in the Uyghur homeland.