GENEVA (UNN) — United Nations human rights experts say Chinese state-run labour transfer programs targeting Uyghurs and other groups may amount to crimes against humanity.
In a statement released Jan. 22, the experts said the level of coercion involved in labour transfers and relocations could rise to forcible transfer and enslavement, both recognized under international law as crimes against humanity.
They said they were alarmed by reports of forced labour affecting Uyghurs and extending to “Kyrgyz, Kazakh and other Turkic peoples, as well as Tibetans.”
The experts said the programms are described by Chinese authorities as poverty alleviation or vocational training. They said the programms operate under “constant surveillance and monitoring,” political pressure and the risk of punishment, raising doubts that participation is voluntary.
According to the statement, official planning documents project millions of labour transfers inside and outside the Uyghur region. The experts said the scale points to “a widespread and systematic policy,” not isolated cases.
They also raised concerns about village relocations and land transfers. The experts said people face pressure to relocate through “repeated visits by officials” and threats of losing access to housing, land or social services. They said there is “little room for genuine consent.”
The warning comes amid policies imposed after 2017, when Chinese authorities expanded mass detention, surveillance and political control across the Uyghur region. Since then, restrictions on religion, language and movement have intensified. Employment, relocation and access to benefits have increasingly been tied to political compliance.
Under international law, crimes against humanity include acts such as enslavement, forcible transfer, imprisonment and persecution when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population. Such crimes do not require an armed conflict.
The statement builds on earlier UN findings. In 2022, the UN Human Rights Office said China’s policies in the Uyghur region involved “serious human rights violations” and that the abuses “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.”
In 2021, the United States determined that China’s actions against Uyghurs constitute genocide and crimes against humanity. Several Western parliaments, including in Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, have passed similar motions.
Asked by Reuters at a regular press briefing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the experts’ concerns were “completely fabricated” and urged them to act “impartially and objectively,” according to the ministry’s transcript.
China has consistently denied allegations of forced labour and genocide in the Uyghur region
Mamatjan Juma is the Executive Director of Uyghur News Network (UNN) and a longtime newsroom leader with more than 18 years of experience in international journalism. He previously served as Deputy Director of Radio Free Asia’s Uyghur Service, where he managed editorial operations, standards, and cross-language workflows and helped guide major coverage of China’s mass detention system, forced labor networks, and the expanding surveillance state in the Uyghur region (East Turkestan).
Under his editorial leadership, RFA’s Uyghur Service received major journalism honors, including the Burke Award (2019) and the MINS Award for excellence in international broadcasting. Its reporting has been cited by major international outlets, helping shape global understanding of the crisis. Juma is fluent in Uyghur, English, Mandarin Chinese, and Uzbek, and also works as a translator.
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