Ralph Lauren probed in Canada over Uyghur forced labour claims

Ralph Lauren probed in Canada over Uyghur forced labour claims

A coalition of civil society organizations last year filed a complaint with Canada's watchdog alleging 'Ralph Lauren Canada has supply relationships with Chinese companies that use or benefit from the use of Uyghur forced labour'
A coalition of civil society organizations last year filed a complaint with Canada's watchdog alleging 'Ralph Lauren Canada has supply relationships with Chinese companies that use or benefit from the use of Uyghur forced labour'. Photo: SPENCER PLATT / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP/File
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Be the first to follow YEN.com.gh on Threads! Click here!

Canada's corporate watchdog on Tuesday launched an investigation of Ralph Lauren's Canadian unit over allegations the fashion giant used forced labor from China's Uyghur minority.

The announcement follows similar probes of Nike Canada and Canadian mining firm Dynasty Gold, which the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) began last month.

A coalition of 28 civil society organizations last year filed a complaint with the watchdog alleging "Ralph Lauren Canada has supply relationships with Chinese companies that use or benefit from the use of Uyghur forced labour."

"I have decided that the Ralph Lauren complaint warrants an investigation," ombudsperson Sheri Meyerhoffer said in a statement.

The brand's US parent company, she noted, has disputed Canadian jurisdiction over the matter, arguing that its subsidiary "is not responsible for decision-making" and all of its operations are overseen by the company's US headquarters.

Read also

Rights groups urge Tanzania to free critics of UAE port deal

The Ottawa-based Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project welcomed the investigation in a statement.

"There is credible evidence that Ralph Lauren is linked to numerous Chinese companies that use Uyghur forced labour in their supply chains," it said.

Rights groups say more than one million Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been held in re-education camps in China's western Xinjiang region, with a slew of abuses that include forced labor.

Lawmakers in Western nations, including Canada, have called the crackdown in Xinjiang a genocide, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has referred to the treatment of Uyghurs as crimes against humanity.

Beijing denies the accusations, describing the facilities as vocational centers designed to curb extremism.

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.