UN Report Confirms Forced Labor Among Uyghurs, Potentially Enslavement as Crime Against Humanity

UN Special Rapporteur Concludes Forced Labor Occurs Among Uyghurs and Other Minorities in the Uyghur Region, Potentially Amounting to Enslavement as a Crime Against Humanity

Geneva, August 2022 — In a landmark report presented to the UN Human Rights Council during its 51st session, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, Tomoya Obokata, concluded that it is reasonable to find forced labor affecting Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other ethnic minorities in the Uyghur Region (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) of China, with some instances potentially constituting enslavement as a crime against humanity.

The report, titled “Contemporary forms of slavery affecting persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minority communities” (A/HRC/51/26), was released in July 2022 and presented in September. It draws on independent assessments, stakeholder submissions, academic research, victim testimonies, open sources, and information from the Chinese government. The Special Rapporteur applied International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labor, including involuntary work, coercion, and lack of freedom to leave or terminate employment.

The document identifies two distinct state-mandated systems in the Uyghur Region:

• The “vocational skills education and training center system,” under which minorities are detained and subjected to work placements.
• The “poverty alleviation through labour transfer system,” which transfers surplus rural laborers (often Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims) into secondary or tertiary sector jobs, frequently in low-skilled, low-paid roles in agriculture, manufacturing, or other industries across China.

Similar coercive labor transfer programs were noted in the Tibet Autonomous Region, targeting farmers, herders, and rural workers.

The report states: “Based on an independent assessment of available information… the Special Rapporteur regards it as reasonable to conclude that forced labour among Uyghur, Kazakh and other ethnic minorities in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing has been occurring in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.” It adds that indicators of forced labor’s involuntary nature are present in many cases, and “some instances may amount to enslavement as a crime against humanity, meriting further independent analysis.”

This finding aligns with broader evidence of systemic repression in the Uyghur Region, including mass arbitrary detention (estimated at over 1 million since 2017), surveillance, cultural erasure, and coercion under the guise of counter-terrorism and poverty alleviation. The report highlights how these programs can create conditions of enslavement, particularly when linked to internment facilities.

Historical Context and Significance
The report marks a significant UN acknowledgment of forced labor in the Uyghur Region. While the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination first raised concerns about arbitrary detention of over 1 million Uyghurs in 2018, this is among the strongest UN statements on modern slavery and crimes against humanity in this context. It preceded the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ August 2022 assessment, which found serious human rights violations possibly amounting to crimes against humanity.

Human rights researcher Adrian Zenz, whose work on Xinjiang’s labor systems influenced the report, described it as a “special moment” and a “unique and powerful assessment” from the UN on modern-day slavery. He noted the report adopts his conceptual framing of the two systems and highlighted its timing—just days after China ratified ILO Conventions 29 and 105 against forced labor (August 12, 2022). Convention 105 specifically prohibits state-sponsored forced labor for political or economic development purposes.

Reactions and Implications
China has rejected the findings, maintaining that programs are voluntary vocational training to combat extremism and poverty. The report urges further independent investigation and calls on states and businesses to address risks in supply chains.

The full report is available here: A/HRC/51/26 – Report of the Special Rapporteur Tomoya Obokata.

Related coverage includes statements from the OHCHR and analyses by researchers like Zenz, underscoring ongoing international concern over Uyghur forced labor amid global supply chain scrutiny.