Researchers: Amazon Continues to Work with Chinese Suppliers Linked to Uyghur Slave Labor Camps

E-commerce giant Amazon has reportedly continued to work with companies in China that have been accused of using Uyghur slave labor, according to research by the Tech Transparency Project. According to the report, the Amazon suppliers make products marketed under the “Amazon Basics” label.

NBC News reports that e-commerce and tech giant Amazon has continued to work with companies in China accused of using forced Uyghur Muslim labor as part of their business operations. A report from the Tech Transparency Project, a research group run by the nonprofit Campaign for Accountability, found that Amazon’s list of suppliers includes five companies previously linked to “labor transfer” programs in China.

The suppliers reportedly aid in the production of Amazon-branded devices and products should under the Amazon Basics label. The report further warned that some of Amazon’s third-party sellers could be offering products made using labor from the Xinjiang region of Western China.

Researchers from the Tech Transparency Project wrote in the report: “The findings raise questions about Amazon’s exposure to China’s repression of minority Uyghurs in Xinjiang — and the extent to which the e-commerce giant is adequately vetting its supplier relationships.”

In a statement, Amazon said: “Amazon complies with the laws and regulations in all jurisdictions in which it operates, and expects suppliers to adhere to our Supply Chain Standards. We take allegations of human rights abuses seriously, including those related to the use or export of forced labor. Whenever we find or receive proof of forced labor, we take action.”

Breitbart News has reported extensively on China’s human rights abuses of Uyghur Muslim slaves, many of which are forced into labor camps. In April of 2021, Breitbart News wrote:

Unspecified sellers in China are increasingly using online venues to advertise Uyghurs for sale in “batches of 50 to 100 workers,” Sky News revealed on Friday.

“On Chinese websites, there are dozens of postings advertising Uighur [sic] labour, in batches of 50 to 100 workers,” Sky News reported on April 16. “Baidu, the company hosting the job postings, did not respond to a request for comment.”

Baidu is a Chinese multinational technology company providing Internet-related services, including China’s top search engine.

The Baidu advertisements suggested Uyghur laborers were under “tight political and social controls,” according to Sky News, which noted that one posting stated the “security of workers will be guaranteed by the government.” Sky did not mention the ads suggesting the workers would be compensated in any way.

Roughly 10 million Turkic-speaking Uyghurs live in Xinjiang, China’s westernmost territory bordering Central Asia. Provincial Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials in Xinjiang have detained 1-3 million Uyghurs and other mainly Muslim minorities in state-run concentration camps since at least 2017, according to estimates by human rights groups and foreign governments. The Chinese government officially denies the camps are meant to exterminate Uyghur identity, though it admits to trapping Uyghurs in the camps.

Read more at NBC News here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com