Pass the Sanctioning Supporters of Slave Labor Act

Tell your U.S. senators and representative to support and pass the Sanctioning Supporters of Slave Labor Act. This is H.R. 7998 in the House and S. 4714 in the Senate.

People belonging to ethnic, cultural, and religious groups in northwestern China, including Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and Hui, are currently the target of the largest organized detention of an ethno-religious minority the world has seen since World War II. Since 2017, over one million have been detained. Detainees are made to work under constant surveillance, with assigned minders and no freedom to leave. Their forced labor contributes to the production of goods for numerous multinationals.

In December, President Joe Biden signed into law the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. However more needs to be done for to address the Uyghur crisis in China. This Uyghur Policy Act is crucial to the U.S. government's comprehensive support for the Uyghurs.

The Sanctioning Supporters of Slave Labor Act was introduced in the House by Congressman Jim Banks (R-IN) and in the Senate by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Marco Rubio (R-FL).

According to Congressman Bank's office, "the bill would impose secondary sanctions on those that do business with and provide support for foreign entities who have been sanctioned for their Uyghur human rights abuse.

"Currently, U.S. law authorizes mandatory sanctions on any foreign persons involved in severe human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic groups in Xinjiang, including those connected to Uyghur slave labor. However, companies doing business with these sanctioned persons can still access the U.S. financial system."

From the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:

“There is no question that the People’s Republic of China has committed a despicable campaign of genocide against the Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang or that Uyghur forced labor continues to threaten to adulterate global supply chains,” Chairman Menendez said. “The administration must move forward with sanctions designations under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, as well as with the new authorities that this bill provides, and work with our allies and partners to hold China to account for its crimes.”

“The Chinese Communist Party’s abuse of Uyghurs is well-documented in horrific detail. It is not enough to sanction those directly responsible for these crimes — we also need to hold their supporters accountable. Anyone who enables these evil acts should not be benefiting from U.S. financial markets,” Senator Rubio said.

Tell your U.S. senators and representative to support and pass the Sanctioning Supporters of Slave Labor Act. This is H.R. 7998 in the House and S. 4714 in the Senate.

More Resources

We have put together two spreadsheets to help you connect with Congress. This is the sheet for Senate staffers and this is for the House staffers.

For More Information

"Eight things you can do to help Uyghurs in a time of genocide," Uyghur Human Rights Project

End #ForcedLabourFashion Now - campaign website

"Uyghur Forced Labor Database," - a new resource from Jewish World Watch that details how global companies are complicit in forced labor


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