A group of dozens of countries are set to ask the International Labor Organization on Thursday to set up a mission to investigate alleged labor abuses in Xinjiang, China, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
A UN agency committee is set to discuss China’s compliance with global labor practices on Thursday after its practices were deemed discriminatory in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, ILO documents showed.
The meeting comes days after UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet’s historic visit to Xinjiang in China has been widely criticized by both civil society and UN member states, including the United States.
A so-called tripartite mission, if accepted by the ILO committee, would have the potential to shed light on allegations that mostly Muslim ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang have been illegally detained, abused and forced to work. has been forced to. China denies the allegations.
China is set to argue during Thursday’s talks that its laws, rules and practices are fully consistent with the principles of a Convention on Discrimination, which it has ratified according to its written submission.
Sources, who declined to be named since official requests had not yet been made public, said dozens of countries were ready to voice the mission.
China approved the ratification of two conventions on forced labor in April, but they have yet to submit the full documents needed to take effect. An ILO official told Reuters that this can often take weeks or months.
Instead, a potential ILO mission will evaluate China’s practices based on conventions that China has ratified, such as a non-discrimination convention.
Sources said Thursday’s committee, made up of representatives from the government, employers and workers, is set to make a decision next week on whether to accept a mission request, and respond to the committee’s findings from China in the next two years. expected to give. month.
Sending a trilateral mission to China could be the first step towards further action.
Along with the tripartite mission, ILO members also have the option of seeking an inquiry commission to visit China, which would have even greater investigative powers.
This requires a formal complaint. The ILO official said that in the ILO’s more than 100-year history, 35 such complaints have been filed, of which less than half have carried out investigative missions. In 1998, sanctions were imposed against Myanmar in only one case.
China has been a member of the Geneva-based ILO since 1919 and has ratified many of its legally binding conventions.
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