Forced labor on a direct flight to London

Multiple studies, including findings by the UN, uncovered evidence of Uyghurs detained by the Chinese government at camps in the Uyghur region being subjected to torture, forced labor and sexual abuse among other human rights violations. The E.U. and the U.S. have put in place legislation to stop goods made using Uyghur forced labor from being imported.  

Meanwhile, Politico reports multiple new direct cargo flights between the Uyghur region and London have opened since last summer. That’s leaving some lawmakers asking if the U.K. government is sending the wrong signals.  

Forced labor semaphore- the wrong message? 

The human rights abuses reported in the Uyghur region are so immense that any goods coming out of the region are  assumed to be made with forced labor. However, far from blocking trade from the region, major U.K. airports have been opening trade routes between the region  and London.  

The head of the British Parliament’s cross-party human rights committee David Alton said in a letter to the U.K. Home Office Minister David Hanson: 

“It’s like semaphore. It’s all dependent on the signals you send. I fear that these routes are being used to bring goods made with forced labor into the U.K.” 

U.K.’s Modern Slavery Act requires organizations be vigilant in keeping out forced labor. But sparked by the new trade routes, the human rights committee is looking at what needs to happen next. Alton’s committee is considering calling in cargo carriers using these routes to give evidence as part of a forced labor inquiry. 

A “dumping ground” for forced labor goods 

Currently U.K. firms making more than £36 million must file an annual report. This report details what they have done to prevent modern slavery in their operations. But some lawmakers argue that the E.U. and United States are doing a better job weeding out forced labor at the border. Alton calls the U.K.’s Modern Slavery Act a failure, saying it leaves the U.K. a “dumping ground” for imports containing forced labor. 

Chloe Cranston, a supply chain expert at Anti-Slavery International warned:  

“The U.K. should have no direct imports from the Uyghur region. Due to the scale of the persecution and the systematic nature of state-imposed forced labor across the Uyghur region, we have to presume all products made in the Uyghur region, whether factory or farm, are very likely made with Uyghur forced labor,”  

Further, Cranston said new air freight routes connecting the Uyghur region to the U.K. show a “critical need for import controls,”. The U.S. has the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, specifically targeting Uyghur forced labor. The E.U. Regulation on Prohibiting Products Made with Forced Labour on the Union Market entered into force in December 2024. Respectively, Alton and his committee feel that the U.K. currently lacks an effective forced labor due-diligence screening mechanism.

Tell the U.K. to step up and stop forced labor! 

Alton’s committee has now launched an inquiry into forced labor in the U.K. And pressure is mounting for the government to update their forced labor laws. MPs on the House of Commons business and trade committee are also preparing to push for stricter regulations.  

Let’s take advantage of this growing pressure to cement real change in the U.K. Sign our petition calling on U.K. regulators to block Shein, one of the retailers likely using the new direct supply routes, from listing on the London Stock Exchange. Like the direct trade routes, allowing Shein to list publicly, risks sending a signal that legitimizes the use of forced labor, and we say NO!