This week, Congressional International Workers' Rights Caucus leaders Reps. Andy Levin (MI-09), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), and Raul Grijalva (AZ-03) applaud the passage of H.R. 1155, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, by a vote of 428-1, to combat labor and human rights abuses committed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) government in Xinjiang. They issued the following joint statement:
"As leaders of the International Workers' Rights Caucus, we understand that the infringement of labor and human rights anywhere is a threat to these fundamental rights everywhere. For too long, we have watched in horror as the PRC systematically seeks to destroy the Uyghur people, including through the use of imprisonment, forced labor, torture, and forced sterilization. We have seen the satellite imagery of factories being built at internment camps. We have heard from courageous survivors, their family members, researchers, and international advocacy groups about the atrocities occurring at these camps. They have explained how PRC government authorities use threats of violence, forcible drug intake, physical and sexual abuse, and torture to force detainees to work in adjacent or off-site factories or worksites, producing garments, carpets, yarn, food products, building materials, solar power equipment, consumer electronics, bedding, hair products, cleaning supplies, personal protective equipment including face masks, and more. And we know that these products are finding their ways into businesses and homes around the world – including the United States. This is unacceptable.
"This week, Congress took action and passed H.R. 1155, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, and we were proud to be part of that effort. This critical legislation will prohibit the importation of goods made with forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region by creating a ‘rebuttable presumption' that all goods produced in the region are made with forced labor unless U.S. Customs and Border Protection certifies that they were not. This bill is an important step to ensuring that products made with forced labor do not make it into global supply chains and our country. We and our fellow members of the International Workers' Rights Caucus look forward to continuing this important work to end forced labor in Xinjiang and to protect and strengthen labor rights around the world."
Source:https://andylevin.house.gov/media/press-releases/levin-schakowsky-grijalva-statement-uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act
