Human rights
The Australian Greens believe that universal human rights are fundamental and must be respected and protected in all countries and for all people. All people must have the right to pursue their well-being in conditions of freedom and dignity, economic security and equal opportunity.
Forced labour in China
Witnesses and submissions to the committee have presented credible, devastating evidence of mass detention and forced labor by the Chinese Government. As Human Rights Watch summarised:
Since April 2017, the Chinese government has arbitrarily detained more than one million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in a mass system of political education camps and formal detention centres … There are credible allegations of forced labor across Xinjiang.
Amnesty International similarly summarised:
Since 2017, the Chinese government has engaged in a massive campaign of intrusive surveillance, arbitrary detention, political indoctrination and forced cultural assimilation targeting Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim people in Xinjiang.
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The full scope and nature of human rights abuses in Xinjiang is hard to identify mainly because the Chinese government has steadfastly resisted calls to admit independent monitors into the region, instead allowing only carefully stage-managed tours for select journalists and diplomats.
…over the past two years, there have been extensive reports by researchers and journalists revelating that the re-education campaign had entered a new phase as government officials claimed that all “trainees” had “graduated”. Their investigations suggests that thousands of these “graduates” and other Uyghurs have been forced to work in factories across Xinjiang and in other parts of China under a government-led labour transfer scheme to help with “poverty alleviation”, and that many Uyghur workers have been sent directly from the “re-education camps”.
Academic David Brophy also summarised:
The situation facing the Uyghurs, and other non-Han ethnic “minorities” (a term most Uyghurs prefer us to avoid) is truly dire. There are various dimensions to the hard-line policies currently being implemented in Xinjiang. As part of a security crackdown, justified primarily in terms of counterterrorism and anti-extremism, detention and imprisonment are being carried out on a mass scale. Much of this is motivated by ideological imperatives, but there is also a socioeconomic dimension to the campaign. This aims at removing Uyghurs from predominantly non-Chinese environments such as the rural regions of southern Xinjiang and integrating them into factory work. This facilitates surveillance but is also intended to eventually turn them into more loyal, Chinese-speaking citizens. Effectively, what is going on is the coercive “proletarianization” of large sections of the Xinjiang population.
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To the best of my knowledge, the issue of forced labour arises in two main areas in present-day Xinjiang. First, there are certain detention centres which, alongside political indoctrination and Chinese language training, include an element of “vocational” training. These are production facilities in and of themselves and may be linked to international supply chains.
Secondly, internees who have “graduated” from these centres may find themselves assigned to work in factories either in Xinjiang itself or elsewhere in China. Available reporting has shown that the government is sponsoring companies elsewhere in the country to take quotas of “surplus labour” from Xinjiang, as well as to relocate to Xinjiang and set up production there, so detainees can transition directly to the workplace. Ex-detainees, or Uyghurs recruited directly to these labour transfer programs, appear to have little ability to turn down such assignments. To do so would of course risk landing you back in a worse facility.
The Australian Greens strongly support recommendation 13 for the introduction of stand alone targeted sanctions legislation to address human rights violations. The Australian Government has already failed to respond to an order for the production of documents moved by Senator Rice, requiring the Minister to provide a response to the report of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade on its Inquiry into whether Australia should examine the use of targeted sanctions to address human rights abuses.
Broadening the prohibition on products produced using forced labour to other countries
A number of submissions and witnesses noted concerns about the selective focus on human rights in China, while Australia and other countries have failed to address human rights violations within their own borders, or to speak out in support of human rights in other contexts. Academic David Brophy questioned why the prohibition on importing goods produced with forced labour was not broadened:
This part of the bill [proposed subsection 50A(b) proposes adding a PRC-specific clause to the Customs Act 1901. Here I have to query why this particular approach is being taken, and not the alternative, which would be to apply an all-encompassing ban on the importation of goods produced by forced labour anywhere. It’s hard for me to understand why the government would take such action against China alone, while refraining from applying the same principle to the rest of the world. China, obviously, is not the sole global offender on this question.
Similarly, Walk Free noted in their submission that:
Unfortunately, the use of forced labour in the production of goods and services is not limited to only one country. As the research detailed in our submission notes, there is an urgent need for legislative action to prevent entry of all products tainted by modern slavery into Australia, and thereby deny market access to those who are seeking to profit from the vulnerability of others.
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Accordingly, we argue that the proposed amendment to the Customs Act should prohibit the import of any goods produced or manufactured through the use of forced labour … from any country [emphasis original].
The submission by academics Justine Nolan and Martjin Boersma argued that the geographic approach in the bill “is a narrow focus that does not acknowledge the pervasive nature of forced labour that features in developed and emerging economies around the globe.” They noted that:
State-sanctioned slave labour can play a substantial role in commodity production in the formal economy and can potentially affect any company and consumer in the world through cross-border sourcing and production. For example, state-sanctioned slave labour is particularly common in the cotton sector. In Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, each year during the harvest season citizens are forced out of their regular jobs to spend weeks picking cotton to work.
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Another example of state-sanctioned forced labour are goods produced through prison labour. Exporting prison-produced goods is illegal under domestic and international trade laws. United States prison labour is a billion-dollar industry. Thirty-seven states allow the use of prison labour by private companies. In eight states prisoners are not paid for their work in state-run facilities. The countrywide average for inmates receiving the least for their work is 14 cents per hour, the average for those earning the most is 63 cents per hour.
The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) also submitted that:
… we have concerns about the current Bill’s exclusive focus on goods imported from Xinjiang and China. Such a narrow ban fails to acknowledge that forced labour is a pervasive global problem which impacts numerous products and services linked to Australian supply chains.
In their testimony to the Committee, the HLRC stated:
… it is our view that the bill should target the crime and not the country. Around 25 million people worldwide are now working in conditions of forced labour and around two-thirds of those are in our region. A law that singles out imports from just one country or region is discriminatory on its face and also risks being subject to challenge by China under international trade laws. It's critical that Australia's response is principled and nondiscriminatory, while also enabling us to take specific, targeted action where goods are likely to have been made with forced labour, whether in Xinjiang or elsewhere.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions also recommended that “The Bill should be expanded to ban all imports of goods produced or manufactured through the use of forced labour from any country.”
The Australian Greens support the recommendation in the main Committee report that the Customs Act 1901 and other relevant legislation be amended to prohibit the import of any goods made wholly or in part with forced labour, regardless of geographic origin.
Australia’s failure to adopt measures to prevent forced labour
A number of submissions provided clear recommendations, which the Australian Government could adopt to strengthen its approach to forced labour across multiple jurisdictions.
Professor Justine Nolan and Dr Martjin Boersma recommended a number of steps, in addition to expanding the focus of the bill to all countries.
2. The Government should consider the ability to impose fines on importers and end-buyers who import prohibit good and apply such fines for the provision of institutional support for survivors of trafficking and modern slavery.
3. Ratify ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (PO29) to ensure the development of holistic legislative framework that will sit alongside the Modern Slavery Act, and a new law that bans the importation of goods produced or manufactured using forced labour.
4. The Government should consider publicly disclosing which goods are prohibited from importation, as well as associated importers, manufacturers and geographical locations.
Amnesty International recommended that the Australian government:
Appoints an independent Federal Anti-Slavery Commissioner to provide oversight, with powers to monitor laws and hold domestic and overseas businesses and governments accountable to ensure the protection of human rights.
The HRLC recommended that the Australian Government should:
2. Establish a clear mechanism to ensure the effective enforcement of the prohibition, modelled on the US approach, and which includes:
(a)
A special investigations unit within the ABF, to identify and investigate suspected cases of imports produced with forced labour, with an open referral system and clear guidance on the evidence standards for imposing an import ban;
(b)
A presumption of detention where the evidence reasonably, but not conclusively, indicates that the imports were produced or manufactured by forced labour, and which can be challenged by importers upon provision of appropriate evidence (akin to the US ‘Withhold Release Order’ system); and
(c)
Publication of customs data from the Australian Government’s Integrated Cargo System (ICS) to enable the identification of Australian importers that are sourcing goods from businesses overseas that may be involved in forced labour.
3. Introduce further complementary measures to help tackle forced labour in Australian supply chains:
(a)
Strengthen the current Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) (MSA) through the addition of penalties for non-compliance and an independent anti-slavery commissioner;
(b)
Introduce mandatory human rights due diligence obligations for large Australian companies and those operating in high-risk sectors or locations (like Xinjiang);
(c)
Publish an annual list of products and source countries which the Australian Government considers to be at high risk of association with forced labour; and
(d)
Ratify the ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (PO29).
This highlights the need for a coordinated, well resourced strategy from the Australian Government. In addition to adopting relevant recommendations in the main committee report, which relate to steps against forced labour, the Australian Government should also ratify the ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention.
Recommendation
That the Australian Government ratify the ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention.
Racism in Australia
A number of community members noted concerns about rising xenophobia or racism in Australia. For example, a joint submission from a number of community groups noted:
The ban of such goods should not only be applied to China but to all goods from global sources where goods are made by forced labour, otherwise the world would condemn us for being "racists" or "xenophobic".
Dr Anthony Pun OAM stated in his testimony to the Committee:
I'm worried about that because a lot of these anti-Chinese sentiments are creating xenophobic overtones in this country
Given concerns from community members about rising Sinophobia and anti-Chinese racism in the community, and given government leaders can intentionally or unintentionally inflame the situation, we call on all government leaders to commit to supporting the Australian-Chinese community, and funding national anti-racism work. In addition to Recommendation 10 in the main committee report, the Australian Government should work urgently to develop an anti-racism strategy.
Recommendation
That the Australian government develop, resource and implement a comprehensive national anti-racism strategy.
Senator Janet Rice
Senator for Victoria
Greens Foreign Affairs spokesperson