Kalbinur Geni She hasn't seen her sister in person in over six years. her sister Renagle Disappeared into the vast territory of the Chinese Communist Party political reeducation campimprisoning an estimated 1.8 million Uighur Muslims.
Although she did not commit any crime, Ms. Lenagul was later imprisoned in Changzhi Women's Prison because she is Uyghur, and is now forced to make dresses to sell on the global market. Lenagul is just one of three million Uyghur men and women exploited by the Chinese Communist Party through state-sponsored forced labor.
As the Trump administration returns to power, prioritizing the U.S. response to the Chinese Communist Party's atrocities against the Uyghurs should be part of its strategy to counter them. Fortunately, the new presidential administration will implement policies and actions based on past performance.
In the final days of the Trump administration's first term, the State Department issued the following statement: Determination of cruelty He declared that the Chinese Communist Party is committing continued genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghur people. The decision was critical because China has the world's largest state-run forced labor program.
After being sentenced for brutality, in December 2021The United States adopted the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The law created a “rebuttable presumption” that the U.S. government would prohibit all goods produced “in whole or in part” with forced Uyghur labor from entering the U.S. market. Enforcement regulations have come into force in June 2022.
It will be critical for the new presidential administration to strengthen U.S. efforts in enforcing this law and combating Uyghur forced labor.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) authored the bill, which also created a bill for President-elect Donald Trump. elect him secretary of state It lends credence to the idea that addressing China's serious human rights abuses will be a priority for the administration.
Efforts to enforce the law have thus far been generally inconsistent. The new administration has an opportunity to right the ship first. Three important next steps It is about punishing repeat offenders, punishing perpetrators of forced labor, and providing support to survivors.
First, President Trump should impose fines on importers who repeatedly violate the law. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has the authority to fine importers for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence. There is alsoprecedentImposing civil penalties on companies that use forced labor. Imposing fines on repeat offenders could increase the risk of becoming violators in order to deter future violations of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Law. This goes beyond a rebuttable presumption that prohibits products produced with forced labor from entering the U.S. market and carries additional economic consequences for noncompliance.
Second, secondary sanctions against perpetrators of Uyghur forced labor should be created and implemented. Most of the goods imported into the United States are found to be contaminated by Uyghur forced labor. Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand. Therefore, subsidiaries of Chinese companies in these countries actively aid and abet the continued forced labor of Uyghurs. The United States should apply strong secondary sanctions against the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and other organizations that perpetuate Uighur forced labor, aimed at strengthening enforcement of existing sanctions against these organizations.
Third, President Trump should create a fund for Uyghur survivors of the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity.. The U.S. government will set aside proceeds from fines collected from repeat violators of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and sanctions for Uyghur human rights violations into a fund to be paid to Uyghur survivors of ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity. Should. The Fund provides direct assistance to survivors of forced labor and other injustices, including various forms of technical assistance, counseling and rehabilitation services, advocacy funding and support, among other potentially valuable purposes. It has the potential to support the important activities of organizations that
Along with these, it is of paramount importance that the United States work with its allies to combat Uyghur forced labor and take steps similar to UFLPA to prevent companies from profiting from the exploitation of Uyghurs.
The incoming administration has a unique opportunity to build on the accomplishments of President Trump's first term. Targeting Uighur forced labor is critical to promoting and protecting the inherent and inalienable rights of all humankind, including Uyghurs.
Olivia Enos is a senior research fellow at the Hudson Institute. Alexis Mrachek is a senior program manager in the Human Rights and Freedoms Program at the McCain Institute at Arizona State University.
