Rights groups on Wednesday announced that they had filed a new complaint in France against clothing giants including Uniqlo and Zara owner Inditex for allegedly profiting from forced labor of the Uighur minority in China.
The complaint, filed on Tuesday, includes allegations of crimes against humanity, aggravated reduction to servitude, genocide and human trafficking.
The companies denied using forced labor in their supply chains.
Photo: AFP
The complaint was filed by anti-corruption association Sherpa, the Ethique sur l’etiquette (Ethics on Labels) collective, the European Uyghur Institute and a Uighur woman who had been held in a camp in China’s far west region of Xinjiang.
An investigating judge is expected to be appointed in response to the filing.
The complainants say they want to bring to light “the possible responsibilities of clothing multinationals who profit from the forced labor of Uighurs for the production of their products,” particularly cotton items.
A previous case filed to the national anti-terror prosecutor’s office in Paris, which looks into purported crimes against humanity, was dropped last month because it lacks “jurisdiction to prosecute the facts contained in the complaint.”
They had accused Uniqlo France, a subsidiary of Fast Retailing, along with Inditex, the Spanish owner of Zara and other brands, the French fashion group SMCP, and footwear manufacturer Skechers of marketing products that were manufactured at least in part at factories where Uighurs are subjected to forced labor, rights groups said.
The plaintiffs believe the companies do not have sufficient control over their subcontractors.
In addition to the four companies, other major brands, such as Nike, have faced similar accusations.
Rights groups say more than 1 million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been held in re-education camps in Xinjiang, with a slew of abuses that include forced labor.
Beijing denies the accusations, describing the facilities as vocational centers designed to curb extremism.
Inditex said the latest accusations were “unfounded.”
“The company has rigorous traceability controls to ensure the provenance of its products and a zero-tolerance policy towards any kind of forced labor,” Inditex said.
Fast Retailing said it had not been notified by the authorities, but that, if and when it happens, it “will cooperate fully with the investigation to reaffirm there is no forced labor in our supply chains.”
SMCP said it had “already denied with the greatest firmness these accusations.”
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
RSS