Apple has come under yet another controversy. Seven companies supplying device components and assembly services to Apple are being accused of forced labours from Uighurs and other oppressed Chinese minorities.
Publication Works With Two Human Rights Group To Bust Forced Labor Programmes
The Information which is working with two other Human Rights groups identified seven companies that supply materials to Apple indulge in forced labour activities that target the Muslim populations especially the Uighurs living in Xinjiang in China.
They said that at least five of the companies received thousands of Uighurs and other minority workers at hidden factory sites and work for Apple.
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Apple released a statement responding to the allegations. They said that they have found no evidence of forced labour in any of the places they operate from. Apple spokesperson said that they will continue to protect their workers and ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
Apple Cut Ties With Supplier Over Labour Programmes; Reports
This is not the first time when Apple has been accused of work with suppliers who indulge in coercive government labour programmes in China. Earlier in March this year, reports surfaced that they had cut ties with a supplier after they learned that the supplier was connected to forced labour.
China’s forced work programmes have been in the news from the past one years. Some media reports have shared detailed imagery into the country’s oppressive practices. In January, the US claimed that China had committed genocide against the Muslim Uighurs and other ethnic groupds in Xinjiang.
Earlier this month, the G7 Foreign Ministers criticised the treatment of the Uighur Muslim minsority and Beijing’s tough stance on the issue.
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In a joint Trans-Atlantic Operations, the US, Canada, Britain and the European Union imposed sanctions against the Chinese officials. The organisation held China responsible for the human rights violations against the Uighur Muslims.
