Among other things, it was alleged that Nike Canada Corp. it maintains supply relationships with a number of Chinese companies that, according to the Australian think tank Australian Strategy Policy Institute (ASPI), use or at least profit from Uyghur forced labour. The Uighurs are an oppressed Muslim minority in China.
In 2020, think tank ASPI released a report estimating that over 80,000 Uighur men and women were employed to work in factories across China. The report said Nike had “taken no concrete steps to ensure beyond reasonable doubt that forced labor is not used in its supply chain”.
“We check with contracted suppliers”
Nike responded that it no longer had any ties to the Chinese companies accused of using Uighur forced labor. Per the report, Nike declined to meet with the Canadian Ombudsman for Responsible Business (CORE), but did provide information.
Graphics: APA/ORF.at; Source: dpa
Nike also sent a letter to ombudsman Sheri Meyerhoffer saying, “We are concerned about reports of forced labor in Xinjiang Autonomous Region.”
The Dynasty Gold report suggests that the company benefited from the use of Uighur forced laborers at a mine in China in which the gold mining company has a majority stake. Dynasty Gold said it had no connection to the mine. The complaints arose after the company left the region. Executive director Ivy Chong told the CBC that the original report was “completely unfounded”.
Complaints in other cases
The ethics regulator has a mandate under Canadian law to hold Canadian apparel, mining and oil and gas companies operating outside the country accountable for potential human rights abuses, including in their supply chains.
“The allegations made by the complainants raise serious questions about possible abuses of the internationally recognized right to freedom from forced labour,” said ombudsman Meyerhoffer in her first assessment, published on Tuesday. “It is our job to resolve human rights complaints fairly and impartially to help affected people and strengthen the responsible business practices of affected companies.”
This is the first investigation of its kind that CORE has undertaken since its inception in 2021. The regulator investigated all complaints filed in June 2022 by a coalition of 28 civil society organizations. In addition to the claims against Nike and Dynasty Gold, there were eleven others that the regulator plans to publish reports on soon.
Beijing denies allegations
For years, China has been accused of systematically cracking down on Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in the northwestern province of Xinjiang. A 2022 United Nations report said that China had committed “serious human rights abuses” against Uighurs that “may constitute international crimes, particularly crimes against humanity”.
More than a million people are being held in camps across the region, according to human rights organizations. Beijing is accused, among other things, of forced sterilization and forced labor. Several western companies, especially in the textile sector, are suspected of benefiting or having benefited. Beijing denies all accusations.