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  • 31 May, 2024
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Lord David Alton Raises issue of forced labour in Tibet by CCP

 

Lord David Alton, a member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom, in a Parliamentary question, has asked the UK government about their assessment of the 2022 Trafficking in Person report released by the US Department of State. An Independent Crossbench Life Peer in the UK House of Lords, Lord David Alton’s question drew attention to the US Department of State's 2022 Trafficking in Person report, which stated that the Chinese government fell short of meeting the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking, showed minimal efforts to address the issue, and failed to report the identification of trafficking victims to protection services. The report had concluded that the government of China continued to place ethnic Tibetans in vocational training and manufacturing jobs with elements of modern-day slavery, throughout 2022.

The Trafficking in Persons report raised grave concerns regarding the Chinese government's treatment of ethnic Tibetans, accusing them of subjecting this population to vocational training and manufacturing jobs characterized by modern-day slavery throughout the entirety of 2022.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, representing the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, in his Parliamentary reply, noted that the Majesty's government is aware of the the 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report from the US Department of State which reveals disturbing exploitation of women, Tibetans, and Uyghurs by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  The report highlights evidence of forced labor in China, especially in Xinjiang and Tibet, as well as Chinese nationals being forced to work in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

Lord Ahmad acknowledged the report's findings, highlighting the presence of forced labor in China, particularly in Xinjiang and Tibet. He emphasized the importance of pressing the Chinese authorities to fulfill their human rights obligations. Lord Ahmad acknowledged this issue and reiterated the government's commitment to holding the Chinese authorities accountable for their human rights violations. "We will continue to press the Chinese authorities to uphold their human rights obligations", read the response. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary raised the human rights situation in Xinjiang at a meeting with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on 5 May 2023, the response added. 

Notre Dame Law School's Religious Liberty Initiative has selected Lord David Alton, a member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom, to receive the 2023 Notre Dame Prize for Religious Liberty. For more than four decades, Alton has been a leading international voice on issues including the environment, human rights, and religious liberty. He has used his long career in Parliament to shine a spotlight on international threats to religious freedom as well as human rights abuses and genocidal atrocities against vulnerable populations.

 

Edited and collated by Team TRC