British authorities must reconsider whether to launch an investigation into the importation of cotton allegedly produced through slave labour in Xinjiang, a Chinese
region, following a London court ruling on Thursday. This decision comes after an appeal by the World Uyghur Congress, an international organization representing exiled Uyghur groups.
The World Uyghur Congress initiated legal action against Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) after it refused to start a criminal investigation. Rights groups and the U.S. government have accused China of widespread abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, a major source of Chinese-produced cotton. Beijing has consistently denied these accusations, with its embassy in Washington dismissing forced labour allegations as "nothing but a lie concocted by the U.S. side in an attempt to wantonly suppress Chinese enterprises."
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London reiterated this stance, claiming that allegations of forced labour in Xinjiang are "an enormous lie propagated by anti-China elements to smear China."
The World Uyghur Congress argued in its legal challenge that the NCA had wrongly failed to investigate whether cotton from Xinjiang constituted "criminal property." Last year, a judge at London's High Court acknowledged "clear and undisputed evidence" of cotton being manufactured using detained and prison labour as well as forced labour. However, the challenge was dismissed on the grounds that British authorities' legal interpretation, which required a clear link between alleged criminality and a specific product, was correct.
The Court of Appeal has now overturned that decision, ruling that "the question of whether to carry out an investigation ... will be remitted to the NCA for reconsideration."
Rahima Mahmut, UK Director of the World Uyghur Congress, hailed the ruling as "a monumental victory and a moral triumph," stating that it represents a measure of justice for Uyghurs and other Turkic people who have been subjected to torture and slave labour.
A spokesperson for the NCA responded: "We respectfully note the judgment of the Court of Appeal and are considering our next steps." Photo by ChiralJon, Wikimedia commons.