China Calls UN Experts’ Forced Labor Concerns "Groundless"

China has dismissed concerns raised by UN experts over alleged forced labor affecting minority groups, calling the claims “fundamentally groundless,” The Straits Times reported.

In a joint statement, the UN experts said forced labor was being enabled through a state-mandated “poverty alleviation through labor transfer” program. (Photo: Colegota, Wikimedia Commons)

UN special rapporteurs and other experts said on Jan. 22 that there were “persistent” allegations of state-imposed forced labor involving ethnic minorities in China’s far-western Xinjiang region and elsewhere.

Responding to the remarks, China’s Foreign Ministry said that “slander cannot be tolerated.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said “the so-called concerns of certain experts are entirely fabricated and fundamentally groundless,” adding that China urges the experts to “perform their duties impartially and objectively and not be reduced to serving as tools and accomplices of anti-China forces.”

In a joint statement, the UN experts said forced labor was being enabled through a state-mandated “poverty alleviation through labor transfer” program, which they said coerces Uighurs and other minority groups into jobs in Xinjiang and other regions.

They also alleged that Tibetans were subjected to similar schemes, estimating that about 650,000 people were affected by labor transfers in 2024.

Beijing has repeatedly denied accusations of human rights abuses against Uighurs, saying the programs reduce poverty by providing stable employment for low-income rural residents.

UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council and do not speak on behalf of the United Nations itself.