In the wake of the Bondi Hannukah attack, the deadliest mass shooting in Australia in three decades, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese invited Israeli President Isaac Herzog to visit, to “engage with members of the Jewish community who are grieving the loss of 15 innocent lives.”
If so, then parts of your car could be made with forced labor from China.
The first thing you need to know is that factories in China make the most cars in the world.
Major brands such as General Motors, Tesla, BYD, Toyota, and Volkswagen manufacture and sell cars in China.
Factories in China are also increasingly exporting cars and car parts to global markets.
Well, almost 10 percent of the world’s aluminum, a key material for car making, is produced in the Xinjiang region of China.
Xinjiang is home to the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim Turkic ethnic group whose culture and language are different from China’s majority Han population.
The Chinese government has long repressed Uyghurs and in recent years committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.
The Chinese government has also subjected Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim communities to forced labor, both in detention centers and through labor transfer programs.
Labor transfers relocate Uyghurs from their homes in rural areas to urban areas to work in factories.
Teams of government officials go door-to-door to identify candidates for transfers.
Human Rights Watch and other organizations analyzed hundreds of Chinese government and company documents available online, and found links between Xinjiang’s aluminum producers and labor transfers.
Uyghurs fear detention or other sanctions if they refuse the transfers, so there’s little choice but to accept the jobs and relocate.
Labor transfer workers frequently face ideological indoctrination and limits on their freedom of movement.
So how could aluminum produced by forced labor end up in your car?
Aluminum from Xinjiang is exported to other regions of China, where it is melted down again, enabling it to enter global supply chains undetected.
Car companies are aware of the Chinese government’s repression of Uyghurs and the risk of forced labor in their supply chain.
But some carmakers have succumbed to Chinese government pressure to apply weaker human rights and responsible sourcing standards in their operations in China.
Consumers should not have to buy or drive vehicles with links to grave abuses in Xinjiang.
When looking to buy a new car, consumers should ask manufacturers how they protect against links to human rights abuses, including forced labor in Xinjiang.
Car companies should require their suppliers, in China and elsewhere, to prove the source of raw materials and show they are free from human rights violations.
Countries should require companies to disclose their supply chains and prohibit the import of products containing parts or materials produced by forced labor.
The cars we drive shouldn’t be made with forced labor.
This is the public security force that has monitored
this very force charged into my house, climbed onto my bed.
Vietnamese authorities routinely use plainclothes security
Take him to the [police] station. Invite him to the station.
In December 2021, Trinh Ba Phuong was sentenced to
ten years in prison for his reporting on land confiscation.
Dissidents are also often detained and interrogated
house arrest more than 24 times in the past eight years.
He is not joining the protest. He has work to tend to.
who were prevented from coming for various reasons.
In another incident, the police used furniture to
block the car of religious freedom activist Hua Phi
It is clear that they are blocking the front here.
that it’s like they’re eating “guard soup.”
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Collaboration with Vietnam Police Facilitates Threats, Abuses
Journalists Face Arrest, Torture; Journalists in Exile at Risk of Forced Return
Support Anti-Discrimination Law, National Rights Body
Impunity and Failures to Uphold Rights Contributed to Lethal Violence that Toppled Government
Pyongyang Further Restricts Trade, Movement, Access to Information
Protect Religious Minorities, Uphold Fundamental Freedoms
New Administration Fails to End Repression, Undertake Serious Reforms
New Restrictions on Women and Girls, Media; Forcibly Returned Refugees at Risk
Domestic Repression Undercuts Global Leadership Efforts
Ex-President Duterte Handed Over to ICC, but Scant Justice for ‘Drug War’ Abuses
Authorities Trample on Free Rights to Crush Dissent
Human Right Watch defends the rights of people in 90 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice.
Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe. Join our movement today.
If so, then parts of your car could be made with forced labor from China.
The first thing you need to know is that factories in China make the most cars in the world.
Major brands such as General Motors, Tesla, BYD, Toyota, and Volkswagen manufacture and sell cars in China.
Factories in China are also increasingly exporting cars and car parts to global markets.
Well, almost 10 percent of the world’s aluminum, a key material for car making, is produced in the Xinjiang region of China.
Xinjiang is home to the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim Turkic ethnic group whose culture and language are different from China’s majority Han population.
The Chinese government has long repressed Uyghurs and in recent years committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.
The Chinese government has also subjected Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim communities to forced labor, both in detention centers and through labor transfer programs.
Labor transfers relocate Uyghurs from their homes in rural areas to urban areas to work in factories.
Teams of government officials go door-to-door to identify candidates for transfers.
Human Rights Watch and other organizations analyzed hundreds of Chinese government and company documents available online, and found links between Xinjiang’s aluminum producers and labor transfers.
Uyghurs fear detention or other sanctions if they refuse the transfers, so there’s little choice but to accept the jobs and relocate.
Labor transfer workers frequently face ideological indoctrination and limits on their freedom of movement.
So how could aluminum produced by forced labor end up in your car?
Aluminum from Xinjiang is exported to other regions of China, where it is melted down again, enabling it to enter global supply chains undetected.
Car companies are aware of the Chinese government’s repression of Uyghurs and the risk of forced labor in their supply chain.
But some carmakers have succumbed to Chinese government pressure to apply weaker human rights and responsible sourcing standards in their operations in China.
Consumers should not have to buy or drive vehicles with links to grave abuses in Xinjiang.
When looking to buy a new car, consumers should ask manufacturers how they protect against links to human rights abuses, including forced labor in Xinjiang.
Car companies should require their suppliers, in China and elsewhere, to prove the source of raw materials and show they are free from human rights violations.
Countries should require companies to disclose their supply chains and prohibit the import of products containing parts or materials produced by forced labor.
The cars we drive shouldn’t be made with forced labor.
This is the public security force that has monitored
this very force charged into my house, climbed onto my bed.
Vietnamese authorities routinely use plainclothes security
Take him to the [police] station. Invite him to the station.
In December 2021, Trinh Ba Phuong was sentenced to
ten years in prison for his reporting on land confiscation.
Dissidents are also often detained and interrogated
house arrest more than 24 times in the past eight years.
He is not joining the protest. He has work to tend to.
who were prevented from coming for various reasons.
In another incident, the police used furniture to
block the car of religious freedom activist Hua Phi
It is clear that they are blocking the front here.
that it’s like they’re eating “guard soup.”
Many Fleeing Thailand at Government’s Urging Saddled with Predatory Loans
Collaboration with Vietnam Police Facilitates Threats, Abuses
Journalists Face Arrest, Torture; Journalists in Exile at Risk of Forced Return
Support Anti-Discrimination Law, National Rights Body
Impunity and Failures to Uphold Rights Contributed to Lethal Violence that Toppled Government
Pyongyang Further Restricts Trade, Movement, Access to Information
Protect Religious Minorities, Uphold Fundamental Freedoms
New Administration Fails to End Repression, Undertake Serious Reforms
New Restrictions on Women and Girls, Media; Forcibly Returned Refugees at Risk
Domestic Repression Undercuts Global Leadership Efforts
Ex-President Duterte Handed Over to ICC, but Scant Justice for ‘Drug War’ Abuses
Authorities Trample on Free Rights to Crush Dissent
Human Right Watch defends the rights of people in 90 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice.
Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe. Join our movement today.