{"id":724,"date":"2021-06-18T16:36:22","date_gmt":"2021-06-18T13:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/?p=724"},"modified":"2021-06-18T16:36:23","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T13:36:23","slug":"bipartisan-call-for-ban-on-goods-from-chinas-xinjiang-and-all-imports-using-forced-labour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/bipartisan-call-for-ban-on-goods-from-chinas-xinjiang-and-all-imports-using-forced-labour\/","title":{"rendered":"BIPARTISAN CALL FOR BAN ON GOODS FROM CHINA\u2019S XINJIANG AND ALL IMPORTS USING FORCED LABOUR"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ABC News<\/a>. 18 June 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Below is an article published by ABC News<\/a>. Photo:Kevin Frayer, Getty.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goods made using forced labour anywhere in the world would be blocked from entering Australia under a series of measures recommended by the Senate foreign affairs committee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move is likely to heighten tension in Australia\u2019s relationship with China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The bipartisan call has come from a committee examining a bill from independent senator Rex Patrick, calling for a ban on goods from China\u2019s Xinjiang province where human rights groups say there\u2019s credible evidence of mass human rights abuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The committee has widened his call for a ban on products made using forced labour to apply anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 14 recommendations follow the lead of the UK, the US and Canada in response to mounting evidence of the minority Uyghur Muslim population not only being detained, but subjected to forced labour as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senator Patrick, who has been pressing the government to take a tougher line on Xinjiang, has welcomed the move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really good that this is a bipartisan report,\u201d Senator Patrick said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoth Labor and the Coalition have supported the committee\u2019s recommendations and that always is quite weighty when the government has to consider how they are going to respond to the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe key now is to hold the government\u2019s feet to the fire, make sure they examine these recommendations and respond to them and then act on them very quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it is incumbent upon members and senators to continue to point out our disappointment, frustration and concern about what is happening in Xinjiang and other parts of China.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report says Australian Border Force would be able to immediately block specific products that have a particularly high risk of being associated with forced labour \u2014 such as cotton from Xinjiang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China continues to deny it is subjecting the Uyghur minority to forced labour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March, a dozen MPs from across the political spectrum expressed grave concern over breaches of human rights in China, referencing torture, assault and a ban on access to education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recommendations gain human rights group support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Human rights groups have been calling on the government to take action, with Canada\u2019s parliament previously labelling the Chinese government\u2019s attempt to suppress Uyghur birth rates a genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human Rights Watch Australia researcher Sophie McNeill says Australia is lagging behind other nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know that the US, the UK, Canada have implemented special measures because they are so concerned about goods coming from Xinjiang and we know that Australia hadn\u2019t taken any concrete steps,\u201d Ms McNeill said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re pleased that the light has been shone on this, that the committee has examined this and that more people in Australia are thinking about right now in Xinjiang you have the largest incarceration of people on the basis of their religion since the holocaust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe really hope that this report and these recommendations will see Australia start to take this very serious issue and really prioritise it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recommendations have also earned the support of the Human Rights Law Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior lawyer Freya Dinshaw said the situation in Xinjiang had been a wake-up call to Australia to ensure companies were not profiting from forced labour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Inquiry heard the harrowing testimonies of the Uyghur community and responded with a set of clear, compelling actions Australia should take to ensure that Australian businesses are not complicit in or profiting from forced labour in Xinjiang or any other part of the world,\u201d Ms Dinshaw said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe call on the Australian government to immediately implement the Senate committee\u2019s recommendations. Australians should have confidence that the goods they purchase are not made at the expense of other peoples\u2019 freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the recommendations have attracted broad bipartisan support, they still require government support and remain a long way from becoming law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senator Patrick said the government needed to respond to the committee\u2019s report sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe government hasn\u2019t acted quickly enough \u2026 we need to deal with this awful trade now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhilst these recommendations will lead to a lot of good, we still have to keep the pressure on in relation into Uyghurs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ABC News. 18 June 2021 Below is an article published by ABC News. Photo:Kevin Frayer, Getty. Goods made using forced labour anywhere in the world would be blocked from entering Australia under a series of measures recommended by the Senate foreign affairs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=724"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":725,"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724\/revisions\/725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}