Canada’s Ombudsman said in a statement that the two companies “allegedly own or have had supply chains or operations in the People’s Republic of China that have been found to be using or benefiting from Uyghur forced labor.”
The investigations were announced after a coalition of 28 civil society organizations filed complaints about the two companies’ overseas activities in June last year.
Nike’s Canadian branch is believed to have “developed supply relationships with Chinese companies found to be using or benefiting from forced Uyghur labor.” Nike reiterates that it is no longer affiliated with these companies and has provided information on its due diligence practices. ” according to the statement.
The second investigation, directed against Dynasty Gold, suggests that the company “benefited from the use of Uyghurs for forced labor at a mine in China in which it owns a majority stake.”
The statement clarified that Dynasty Gold’s response was “that it has no operational control over the mine and that these allegations arose after the company left the area.”
The majority of Uyghurs hail from China’s Xinjiang province, where the government is accused of detaining more than a million of them and other Muslim minorities in a repressive campaign that human rights groups say includes “crimes against humanity.”
China has vehemently denied allegations of imposing forced labor on Uyghurs in Xinjiang, saying training programs, work schedules and improved education have helped root out extremism in the region.
Last April, French prosecutors dismissed a case related to a lawsuit against fashion giants Uniqlo and Inditex alleging that they exploited forced Uyghur labor.
A new complaint was filed last May.
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