Muslim civil rights group urges CBP and SEC to investigate Amazon’s business activities in Uyghur Region
(WASHINGTON, D.C, 3/8/2022) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Amazon to cut ties with suppliers with links to forced labor in China and urged the State Department to investigate Amazon’s business activities in the Uyghur Region.
“Amazon’s alleged use of suppliers with links to forced labor and the genocide of Uyghurs in China would be shameful, immoral and possibly illegal,” said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw. “The federal government must conduct a thorough investigation of Amazon’s business activities in the Uyghur region, and Amazon must stop operating in that region.”
McCaw also noted that China has agreed to allow a UN visit to the Xinjiang region and called on the UN human rights chief to produce a thorough investigative report on China’s activities based on information gathered without Chinese government interference or influence.
A new report released by Tech Transparency Project (TTP) accused Amazon of working with suppliers in China with alleged links to forced Uyghur labor. TTP found that Amazon’s public list of suppliers includes five companies that have been linked directly or indirectly to forced labor of ethnic minorities from China’s Xinjiang region.
That report states in part:
“In China, programs euphemistically called ‘labor transfers’ move workers from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a predominantly Muslim area in western China, to factories in other parts of the country. Experts say these programs are often coercive and connected to a network of mass internment and reeducation camps in China. In at least some cases, Uyghur laborers are not allowed to leave factory facilities or return home of their own accord.”
Amazon even allegedly continued to include Esquel Group on its supplier list for more than a year after the U.S. government-imposed sanctions on an Esquel subsidiary for involvement in forced labor in China.
CAIR is specifically calling on the Department of Justice, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate Amazon’s business activities relating to China and its genocide targeting Uyghur Muslims.
[NOTE: CBP is responsible for determining that importers like Amazon comply with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act’s requirements that merchandise from China was not produced using forced labor. Public companies like Amazon must also disclose their activities in Xinjiang to the SEC as part of their annual reports.]
SEE: Amazon Suppliers Tied to Forced Labor in Xinjiang
https://www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/amazon-suppliers-tied-forced-labor-xinjiang
Amazon Accused of Using Chinese Suppliers With Links to Forced Uyghur Labor
BACKGROUNDER:
It is well documented that China carries out acts of torture, rape, forced abortions and sterilizations, mass detention, denial of religious rights, and cultural erasure targeting Uyghur Muslims.
SEE: CAIR Calls for ‘Immediate International Action’ After Amnesty Report Describes ‘Dystopian Hellscape’ for Uyghur Muslims in China
CAIR also called on the Biden administration to protect the free speech rights of American athletes during the Beijing Winter Olympics and urged Olympic athletes to defy China’s announced ban on political expression and speak out against the Uyghur Genocide.
SEE: CAIR Urges Olympic Athletes to Defy China Free Speech Ban, Speak Out Against Uyghur Genocide
CAIR previously urged community members to call on U.S.-based corporations advertising during the Beijing Winter Olympics to speak out against the ongoing genocide targeting China’s Uyghur Muslim minority.
SEE: CAIR Action Alert: Call on Beijing Olympics Advertisers Coca-Cola, Intel, Airbnb, Procter & Gamble, Visa to Speak Out Against Uyghur Genocide
And earlier in 2021, CAIR and its #BoycottHilton coalition partners called on the Departments of State and Commerce to investigate the Hilton Corporation for its complicity in the Uyghur genocide.
SEE: #BoycottHilton Coalition Asks Secs. Antony Blinken, Gina Raimondo to Probe Hilton Worldwide, Chinese Partner for Complicity in Uyghur Genocide
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational
Subscribe to CAIR’s Email List
https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters
Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed
http://twitter.com/cairnational
Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel
Follow CAIR on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/cair_national/
Donate to CAIR
https://action.cair.com/a/donate
Do you like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR. If you would like to join CAIR’s media list, please sign up here: https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters — For more information, email: [email protected], CC [email protected]
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]