{"id":20876,"date":"2024-09-11T20:51:21","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T00:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/in-print\/volume-112\/volume-112-issue-5-may-2024\/he-link-between-trade-and-human-rights-combating-human-rights-abuses-in-xinjiang\/"},"modified":"2025-05-12T11:12:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T15:12:46","slug":"he-link-between-trade-and-human-rights-combating-human-rights-abuses-in-xinjiang","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/in-print\/volume-112\/volume-112-issue-5-may-2024\/he-link-between-trade-and-human-rights-combating-human-rights-abuses-in-xinjiang\/","title":{"rendered":"The Link Between Trade and Human Rights: Combating Human Rights Abuses in Xinjiang"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China (Xinjiang), an examination of a government-sanctioned program establishing training centers claimed to be a voluntary opportunity for the Uyghur people and other predominately Muslim ethnic minorities<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_20876_1' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_20876_1'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>1<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_20876_1' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #1<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_20876_1' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_20876_1' tabindex='-1'>1<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #1 content: <\/span>The Uyghurs and other predominately Muslim ethnic minorities, namely Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, and Huis, predominately make up the population of the Xinjiang region and are victims of the abuses carried out by the Chinese government in the region. OFF. OF THE HIGH COMM\u2019R, U.N. HUM. RTS., OHCHR ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS IN THE XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION, PEOPLE\u2019S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 1 n.1 (2022), https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/ countries\/2022-08-31\/22-08-31-final-assesment.pdf [https:\/\/perma.cc\/54HR-LPKG]. However, for clarity and because the majority of victims are members of the Uyghur ethnic group, this Note primarily refers to those affected by China\u2019s forced labor regime as \u201cUyghurs.\u201d\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"s1\">to gain vocational skills and to respond to threats of \u201cterrorism\u201d in the region illustrates the true nature of the program: one in which systematic abuses and efforts of cultural erasure are carried out against the <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Uyghur people.<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_20876_2' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_20876_2'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>2<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_20876_2' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #2<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_20876_2' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_20876_2' tabindex='-1'>2<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #2 content: <\/span><i>See <\/i>AMNESTY INT\u2019L, \u201cLIKE WE WERE ENEMIES IN A WAR\u201d: CHINA\u2019S MASS INTERNMENT, TORTURE AND PERSECUTION OF MUSLIMS IN XINJIANG 23 (2021), https:\/\/xinjiang.amnesty.org\/#case-SR128 [https:\/\/perma.cc\/27GK-W67A].\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/span> <\/span><span class=\"s1\">In reality, these programs involve numerous human rights abuses,<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_20876_3' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_20876_3'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>3<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_20876_3' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #3<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_20876_3' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_20876_3' tabindex='-1'>3<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #3 content: <\/span>While other instances of major human rights violations\u2014including evidence of torture, sexual violence, and crimes against humanity of forcible transfer and persecution\u2014have been committed against the Uyghurs, this Note focuses narrowly on instances of forced labor given its focus on international trade mechanisms. <i>See <\/i>OFF. OF THE HIGH COMM\u2019R, <i>supra <\/i>note 1, at 21\u201325; ADRIAN ZENZ, JAMESTOWN FOUND., COERCIVE LABOR AND FORCED DISPLACEMENT IN XINJIANG\u2019S CROSS-REGIONAL LABOR TRANSFER PROGRAM: A PROCESS-ORIENTED EVALUATION 39\u201349 (2021), https:\/\/jamestown.org\/ wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Coercive-Labor-and-Forced-Displacement-in-Xinjiangs-Cross-Regional- Labor-Transfers-A-Process-Oriented-Evaluation.pdf?x75295 [https:\/\/perma.cc\/99LF-VL6U]; HUM. RTS. WATCH &amp; MILLS LEGAL CLINIC, \u201cBREAK THEIR LINEAGE, BREAK THEIR ROOTS\u201d: CHINESE GOVERNMENT CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY TARGETING UYGHURS AND OTHER TURKIC MUSLIMS 12\u201339 (2021), https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/report\/2021\/04\/19\/break-their-lineage-break-their-roots\/chinas-crimes-against- humanity-targeting [https:\/\/perma.cc\/C3CD-QNN5]. However, these allegations warrant further discussion and action by the international community to put an end to these violations and hold the Chinese government accountable for the abuses against the Uyghur people.\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"s1\">including torture, mass detention, forced labor, and even death.<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_20876_4' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_20876_4'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>4<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_20876_4' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #4<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_20876_4' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_20876_4' tabindex='-1'>4<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #4 content: <\/span><i>See <\/i>AMNESTY INT\u2019L, <i>supra <\/i>note 2, at 7; <i>Chinese Persecution of the Uyghurs<\/i>, U.S. HOLOCAUST MEM\u2019L MUSEUM, https:\/\/www.ushmm.org\/genocide-prevention\/countries\/china\/chinese-persecution-of- the-uyghurs [https:\/\/perma.cc\/2UDJ-VFGK] (last visited Mar. 29, 2024); John Sudworth, <i>Xinjiang Police Files: Inside a Chinese Internment Camp<\/i>, BBC NEWS (May 24, 2022), https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/ news\/resources\/idt-8df450b3-5d6d-4ed8-bdcc-bd99137eadc3 [https:\/\/perma.cc\/F7EE-FDKN].\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/span><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">Uyghurs are detained because they are classified as \u201csuspicious,\u201d \u201cuntrustworthy,\u201d or as a \u201cterrorist\u201d or \u201cextremist.\u201d<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_20876_5' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_20876_5'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>5<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_20876_5' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #5<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_20876_5' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_20876_5' tabindex='-1'>5<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #5 content: <\/span>AMNESTY INT\u2019L, <i>supra <\/i>note 2, at 8.\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/span><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">In these camps, detainees are stripped of their autonomy, forced to speak Mandarin rather than their native language, prevented from practicing Islam, and regimented to a program for \u201cideological transformation.\u201d<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n\t\t<span class='js-footnote footnote'>\n\t\t\t<button type='button' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_20876_6' class='footnote_inline_btn js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-describedby='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_20876_6'>\n\t\t\t\t<sup class='footnote_inline_btn_number'>6<\/sup>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='footnote_btn_text_abstract_footnote_20876_6' class='visually_hide'>Open footnote #6<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t<cite id='abstract_footnote_20876_6' class='footnote_content_cite js-footnote-content'>\n\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_content_number js-footnote-toggle-btn' aria-controls='abstract_footnote_20876_6' tabindex='-1'>6<\/button>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content_wrap_inner'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_content'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='visually_hide'>Footnote #6 content: <\/span><i>Id. <\/i>at 63\u201365.\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='footnote_close_btn_wrap'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type='button' class='footnote_close_btn js-footnote-close-btn' aria-label='Back to content'>close<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/cite>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Continue reading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2024\/09\/Bacon_TradeAndHumanRightsAbuses.pdf\"><em>The Link Between Trade and Human Rights: Combating Human Rights Abuses in Xinjiang<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2024\/09\/Bacon_TradeAndHumanRightsAbuses.pdf\" class=\"pdfemb-viewer\" style=\"\" data-width=\"max\" data-height=\"max\" data-toolbar=\"bottom\" data-toolbar-fixed=\"off\">Bacon_TradeAndHumanRightsAbuses<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China (Xinjiang), an examination of a government-sanctioned program establishing training centers claimed to be a voluntary opportunity for the Uyghur people and other [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13235,"featured_media":0,"parent":20847,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"abstract.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"class_list":["post-20876","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"ticketed":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13235"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20876"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23210,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20876\/revisions\/23210"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/georgetown-law-journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}