According to the laws of the United States, forced labor is illegal, and importing products made with forced labor is also illegal. However, products made with forced labor is being imported by many companies- from major brands like Google and Amazon to boutique fashion sites.

The forced labor in question is Uyghur labor in China. The Uyghurs are a minority group who practice Islam and mostly reside in East Turkestan, also known as the Xinjiang region of China. In 2017, concentration camps were built there, which the Uyghurs were sent to, and after that, they were sent to factories outside of and in East Turkestan and forced to work. In the concentration camps, people are banned from speaking their native language, forced to eat pork and other food that Muslims refrain from eating, tortured, and many die. Once they are transferred to the factories, they are constantly survilled, separated from their families and forced into prison-like dormitories. The worst part, though, is that many familiar brands profit from this practice.

The House of Representatives passed a bill in 2020- the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act- that will ban goods made in East Turkestan from being imported into the United States, impose sanctions on human rights violators, and investigate factories outside of East Turkestan participating in the forced labor program. Unfortunately, the Senate didn't pass it by the end of that year, meaning the House must pass it again as well as the Senate.

By signing this petition, we signal that the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act must be passed by the House and Senate and signed by the President into law.