- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials confiscated a shipment of human hair extensions believed to have been manufactured in Xinjiang, China, using forced labor on Wednesday.
- The hair extensions were part of a shipment of nearly 13 tons of hair products with an estimated value of more than $ 800,000.
- Brenda Smith, Executive Assistant Commissioner of CBP’s Office of Commerce, said in the statement that the manufacture of these products represents a “very serious violation of human rights.”
- China has been accused of running hundreds of detention centers, labor camps, and prisons in the western Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Several major global companies have been accused of benefiting from forced labor emanating from these fields.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials confiscated a shipment of human hair extensions that are said to have originated in Xinjiang, China, where millions of Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities are believed to be held in detention centers.
CBP, who announced the embargo in a statement on Wednesday, said the shipment indicated “possible human rights abuses of forced child labor and imprisonment.” The hair extensions were part of a shipment of nearly 13 tons of hair products with an estimated value of more than $ 800,000.
According to the statement, the shipment was seized by agents at the Port of New York and New Jersey pursuant to a June 17 arrest warrant for products produced by Lop County Meixin Hair Product Co. Ltd., a Chinese company accused of using prison labor. to make your hair products.
“The manufacturing process may include additional forced labor situations, including without limitation excessive overtime, wage withholding, and movement restriction,” CBP said.
Brenda Smith, Executive Assistant Commissioner of CBP’s Office of Commerce, said in the statement that the manufacture of these products represents a “very serious violation of human rights.”
“It is absolutely essential that American importers ensure that the integrity of their supply chain meets the human and ethical standards expected by the American government and by American consumers,” said Smith. “The production of these goods constitutes a very serious violation of human rights, and the arrest warrant is intended to send a clear and direct message to all entities seeking to do business with the United States that unlawful practices will not be tolerated. and inhumane in supplying the United States. chains. ”
Several major global companies, including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony, and Volkswagen, have been accused of profiting from Uyghur forced labor.
China has been accused of running hundreds of detention centers, labor camps and prisons in western Xinjiang. Interviews with people carried out in the camps reveal allegations of beatings and food deprivation, as well as medical experiments with prisoners.
China has acknowledged the existence of some “re-education camps,” but has repeatedly denied any allegations of abuse at its facilities.
The region has a population of about 10 million citizens, many of whom are Uighurs or other ethnic minorities, and in May, the US Assistant Secretary of Defense Randall Schriver said that “at least a million but probably closer of 3 million citizens “were detained in these facilities.
And a recent leak of classified Chinese government documents known as the “Cables of China” featured a manual on exactly how detention centers would work, from avoiding escape by locking all doors with a double key to using a “point system” based in behavior that is linked “directly to rewards, punishments, and family visits.”
Last month, President Donald Trump signed a law that sanctions Chinese officials responsible for the oppression of Uighurs and other ethnic minority groups. The bill, dubbed the 2020 Uighur Human Rights Policy Act, had overwhelming backing from the House and Senate.
