Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2025, publiée 114ème session CIT (2026)

Convention (n° 29) sur le travail forcé, 1930 - Chine (Ratification: 2022)

The Committee takes note of the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 3 September 2025, which have been communicated to the Government. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Labour transfers. Ethnic and religious minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) and the Tibet Autonomous Region (Tibet). The Committee previously noted information from the ITUC on widespread and state-sponsored forced labour practices in both Xinjiang and Tibet. In particular, the ITUC referred to two major systems of coercive work placement, including programmes of vocational skills education and training (the “Vocational Skills Training and Education Centres” or VSTEC system) and a system of transferring “surplus” rural workers from low-income traditional livelihoods pursuits into industries such as the processing of raw materials for the production of solar panels, batteries and other vehicle parts; seasonal agricultural work; and seafood processing.

The Government replies, in its report, indicating that there is no “state-sponsored forced labour” in Xinjiang and Tibet. The Government emphasizes that workers from Xinjiang and Tibet who take up employment outside their home regions are misinterpreted as a part of “a system of transferring ‘surplus’ rural workers”. In this respect, the Government indicates that many ethnic minority residents from Xinjiang and Tibet are willing to seek employment in cities or in the eastern regions. In this process, governments at all levels in Xinjiang and Tibet actively build employment information platforms, establish broad connections with employers, and collect job vacancy information. Workers of all ethnic groups make their own decisions about employment, including locations, companies, and positions, based on their individual needs and preferences. The Government also indicates that, like all other workers in China, those from Xinjiang and Tibet who take up jobs outside their home regions are free to leave their positions at any time. In relation to the VSTEC system, the Government indicates that, as of October 2019, all individuals in vocational education and training centres have completed their training.

The Committee notes the ITUC’s observations indicating that in 2019, authorities shifted from reliance on the VSTEC system toward long-term imprisonment of large numbers of Uyghurs. In this respect, the Committee refers to its detailed comments on the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105).

The ITUC further indicates that the Government has accelerated coercive labour-transfer programmes in both Xinjiang and Tibet. In particular, in 2024, they reached record levels in Xinjiang, marked by increased cross-provincial labour transfers and an expanded policy of dispossessing Uyghurs of their land to facilitate coercive work placements. The ITUC further refers to the Xinjiang government data, indicating 3.34 million instances where individuals were assigned to new jobs in 2024. The ITUC also reports that a wide range of industries operating in Xinjiang have utilized this extensive labour placement system, including the solar sector, silicon and polysilicon production, PVC manufacturers, the automotive industry, cotton production, the seafood industry, and, notably, the mineral sector. The ITUC further emphasizes that the coercive labour-transfer system in Tibet continues to operate extensively. According to the Tibet Work Report, in 2024, the labour-transfer system placed 648,000 people, who generally received low-paid, low-skilled work in manufacturing and construction. According to the ITUC, the official Chinese documents acknowledge Tibetan resistance to labour transfers. The ITUC further indicates that significant evidence suggests that persons who decline to participate in labour-transfer programmes generally risk being sent to detention camps, as the Government may view refusal to participate in these programmes as evidence of extremism and officials can accordingly compel compliance through threats of detention or imprisonment.

The Committee recalls that Article 2(1) of the Convention defines the term “forced or compulsory labour” as “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily”. The Committee further recalls that the essential elements of this definition include the voluntary offer to perform work or service and the menace of any penalty for refusal to perform work or service. In particular, voluntary offer refers to the freely given and informed consent of workers to enter into an employment relationship and to their freedom to leave their employment at any time. Furthermore, the menace of any penalty is understood in a very broad sense and may cover penal sanctions, various forms of coercion, and a loss of rights or privileges. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure, both in law and in practice, that labour transfers do not involve the imposition of forced labour by ensuring that the persons concerned provide their freely given and informed consent to participate in labour transfers without the menace of any penalty. With regard to the use of forced or compulsory labour as a means of racial, social, national or religious discrimination, the Committee refers to its detailed comments under the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105).

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25. Vulnerable situation of foreign migrants with regard to the exaction of forced labour. The Committee previously noted the information from the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR, 2024) on forced labour practices involving overseas workers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), including in China.

In its reply, the Government indicates that Chinese law equally protects the legitimate rights and interests of foreign workers, who are entitled to equal access to legal protection against forced labour. The Government further indicates that foreigners must obtain a work permit and a work-type residence permit to be legally employed in China. As per the Exit and Entry Administration Law, foreign workers who have obtained work permits enjoy equal rights to employment and career choice, to receive remuneration, to rest and take leave, to occupational safety and health, to seek redress for labour disputes, and other labour rights stipulated by law. The Government also specifies that it strictly enforces laws against the illegal employment of foreigners and unauthorized work by foreign nationals, thereby addressing the root causes of potential forced or compulsory labour involving foreign workers. Furthermore, the Government continues to strengthen public awareness of the law by using case studies of foreigners working illegally in China as cautionary examples, conducting on-site visits and discussions, and raising employers’ awareness of lawful hiring practices as well as foreign workers’ awareness of their rights while employed in China.

The Committee notes that the 2025 report of the OHCHR refers to the forced labour practices among overseas workers from the DPRK (A/HRC/60/58, para. 31). Additionally, in 2023, the UN Special Reporter on the situation of human rights in the DPRK indicated that overseas workers from the DPRK face harsh labour conditions that may amount to forced labour (A/78/526, para. 21). Furthermore, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in its 2023 concluding observations, expressed concern that China is a country of destination for trafficking in women and girls from the DPRK for purposes of sexual exploitation (CEDAW/C/CHN/CO/9, para. 29).

The Committee requests the Government to make every effort to prevent foreign migrants from falling victim to abusive practices and conditions of work that amount to the exaction of forced labour and to ensure the effective and adequate protection of migrant workers who are victims of forced labour, irrespective of their legal status in the country. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to supply information on the number of identified victims of abusive practices among migrant workers, and on the number of investigations, prosecutions and penalties imposed on the perpetrators.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.