Watchdog probes into Nike Canada’s use of “forced labor of Uyghur Muslims”

A Canadian watchdog has launched an investigation into allegations that Nike Canada and a gold mining company used forced Uyghur labor in their operations in China.

The investigations are carried out following complaints submitted by a coalition of human rights groups.

The HR body claims that Nike Canada has ties with several Chinese companies to supply its products.

An Australian policy institute has identified these Chinese companies as firms that use or profit from the forced labor of Uyghurs.

Nike stresses that it is no longer associated with companies accused of using forced labor from an ethnic Muslim minority living in China’s Xinjiang region.

The probe into Nike Canada and Dynasty Gold is the first investigation by Canada’s ethics watchdog since its complaint mechanism was launched in 2021.

A 2022 United Nations report found that China had committed “serious human rights violations” against the Uyghurs, an ethnic Muslim minority living in the Xinjiang region, which “may amount to international crimes, especially crimes against humanity.” China, however, has always denied violating the rights of Uyghur Muslims.