President Biden today signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, underscoring the United States’ commitment to combatting forced labor, including in the context of the ongoing genocide

in Xinjiang.

The State Department is committed to working with Congress and our interagency partners to continue addressing forced labor in Xinjiang and to strengthen international action against this egregious violation of human rights.  This new law gives the U.S. government new tools to prevent goods made with forced labor in Xinjiang from entering U.S. markets and to further promote accountability for persons and entities responsible for these abuses.

Addressing forced labor has been a priority for this Administration. We have taken concrete measures to promote accountability in Xinjiang, including visa restrictions, Global Magnitsky and other financial sanctions, export controls, Withhold Release Orders and import restrictions, and the release of a business advisory on Xinjiang – all while rallying allies and partners to take joint action to ensure all global supply chains are free from the use of forced labor, including from Xinjiang.

We will continue doing everything we can to restore the dignity of those who yearn to be free from forced labor. We call on the Government of the People’s Republic of China to immediately end genocide and crimes against humanity against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang Photo by Claudia Himmelreich, Fact Finders Berlin, Wikimedia commons.