The US called on China to immediately end genocide and crimes against Muslim Uyghurs and other minority groups in Xinjiang province.
This comes after US President Joe Biden on Thursday signed the “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act” that bans importing of goods into the US made with forced labor in Xinjiang.
“President Biden today signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, underscoring the United States’ commitment to combatting forced labor, including in the context of the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said in a statement.
The statement said that the State Department is committed to working with Congress and our interagency partners to continue addressing forced labor in Xinjiang and to strengthen international action against this egregious violation of human rights.
This new law gives the U.S. government new tools to prevent goods made with forced labor in Xinjiang from entering U.S. markets and to further promote accountability for persons and entities responsible for these abuses, read the statement.
“We will continue doing everything we can to restore the dignity of those who yearn to be free from forced labor. We call on the Government of the People’s Republic of China to immediately end genocide and crimes against humanity against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang,” the statement added.
