The US State Department named China, North Korea and Myanmar as sponsor states for human trafficking for the second year in a row in its annual human trafficking report released Thursday, citing the use of forced labor in the two East Asian countries and the recruitment and use of child soldiers in this South East Asian country.

The Trafficking in Persons Annual Report (TIP) ranks 188 countries – classifying them as Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List, or Tier 3 – based on their compliance with minimum standards set by U.S. law to eliminate human trafficking. human beings, as mandated by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).

Minimum standards under US law include a government’s prohibition and punishment of serious forms of human trafficking, and serious and sustained efforts to eliminate such trafficking.

In remarks at the launch of the TIP report on Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on China to use ethnic Uyghur detainees, a predominantly Muslim minority group living in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), as workers forced to produce various Chinese-made products.

The Chinese government has detained some 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkish minorities in its vast network of up to 1,200 state-run internment camps, although it says the facilities are centers vocational training programs set up to combat religious extremism and terrorism.

“Many detainees are subjected to physical violence, sexual abuse and torture to get them to work, produce clothes, electronics, solar equipment, agricultural products,” Blinken said. “And although the practices are most egregious in Xinjiang, this year’s report notes that China has subjected its citizens to coercive labor practices in other parts of the country as well. “

Blinken noted that the U.S. government has taken action to prevent Chinese products made with forced labor from entering the United States, citing the 2020 Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory publication to alert U.S. companies to economic risks, legal and reputational associated with operations, supply chains and workers in the XUAR.

The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued several detention orders to prevent the entry into the United States of goods suspected of having been manufactured with forced labor.

In addition, the United States and several other countries have imposed sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for various abuses against Uyghurs, as well as Chinese government agencies and companies suspected of using forced Uyghur labor to manufacture such products. than cotton, wigs and polysilicon for solar panels. .

U.S. lawmakers are also working on a Uyghur forced labor prevention law, which aims to combat the systematic use of Uyghur forced labor in the XUAR and ensure that U.S. companies are not complicit.

“We will continue to call on our partners around the world to join us in condemning the genocide and crimes against humanity committed by China in Xinjiang and taking action to prevent products made with forced labor from entering. in supply chains, ”Blinken said.

“Governments must protect and serve their citizens, not terrorize and subjugate them for profit,” he added.

The Chinese government did not immediately respond to Blinken’s comments or the TIP report, as the country marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party on July 1.

“The government is the trafficker”

China, North Korea and Myanmar were among the 11 governments around the world cited in the report as having a documented “policy or model” of human trafficking, trafficking under government-funded programs, forced labor in government-affiliated medical services or other sectors, sexual slavery. in government camps or the recruitment of child soldiers.

All three countries retained their Level 3 positions in the 2021 TIP report. They were also all listed among a dozen governments that had policies or trafficking patterns in the 2020 report – the first time the State Department American used the new category.

The 644-page report says the Chinese government has taken action to combat trafficking by continuing to prosecute and convict certain traffickers and by maintaining consultation mechanisms with its law enforcement counterparts in other countries. , although the country has resorted to widespread forced labor.

The report noted China’s campaign of mass detention and political indoctrination against Uyghurs and other Turkish groups in the XUAR and its use of surveillance technology and false administrative and criminal charges to detain them in the camps. internment with the aim of eliminating their ethnicity and religious identities. He also said those who managed to avoid detention are exposed to state-sponsored forced labor and other abuses.

“Forced labor is a central tactic used for this crackdown,” the TIP report said. “In Xinjiang, the government is the trafficker. “

Detailing the Chinese government’s policy of widespread forced labor in other areas, the report said officials allegedly placed ethnic Tibetans in vocational training and manufacturing jobs as part of a so-called “labor reduction program.” poverty ”and“ transfer of labor ”which included coercive elements.

North Korea has been cited for the government’s massive mobilizations of adults and children in prison camps as part of a system of political repression, and in labor training centers. The report also highlighted the country’s imposition of forced labor conditions on its workers abroad.

The US report also noted that the government likely used the COVID-19 pandemic to increase the number of political prisoners, and therefore its ability to subject North Koreans to forced labor. North Korea has used the proceeds of state-sponsored forced labor to pay for government functions and illicit activities, and has made no effort to combat human trafficking, he said.

Among other countries covered by RFA, Laos remained a Tier 2 country in this year’s TIP report, while Cambodia and Vietnam were still considered Tier 2 Watch List countries that did not comply. not fully to the minimum standards set by US law but are considered to be making considerable efforts to become compliant.

The Lao government has stepped up its overall efforts to combat trafficking, but it has failed by inconsistently using victim identification and screening procedures, inadequately identifying Lao and foreign victims of trafficking in the country. and failing to adequately deal with or fail to investigate suspected traffickers – at-risk areas, according to the report.

The Cambodian government continued to investigate, prosecute and convict traffickers and implement a national action plan to combat trafficking, but its efforts were hampered by rampant corruption and a lack of political will, according to the TIP report.

Vietnam has stepped up its prosecution of traffickers, released comprehensive data on trafficking cases and revised a law governing Vietnamese workers abroad under contract, according to the report. But the government has failed to systematically implement victim identification procedures or proactively identify victims of trafficking among certain vulnerable groups. He also reported a drop in investigations and convictions of traffickers.

The TIP Annual Report is based on information from U.S. embassies, government officials, NGOs, and international organizations, published reports, press articles, academic studies, research trips, and information submitted to the Department of State.