Fri 22 April 2022:
Following pressure from rights groups over Beijing’s treatment of the Uyghur people, British lawmakers will consider proposed changes to legislation next week that would ban the government from purchasing medical supplies made in China’s Xinjiang region.
China is accused by human rights organizations and lawmakers of widespread abuses against Uyghurs and other minorities, including torture, forced labor, and the detention of one million individuals in internment camps.
China claims the camps are re-education and training institutions and rejects any human rights violations, claiming it is combatting religious extremism.
An amendment proposed by Britain’s upper house of parliament to the Health and Social Care Bill that would seek to eradicate modern slavery from health service supply chains will be considered by lawmakers in the lower house.
Politico reported that health minister Sajid Javid supported the move. The Department of Health and Social Care had no immediate comment.
The amendment does not expressly reference Xinjiang, but it does require the government to guarantee that all goods and services for the health service in England are procured in a way that “avoids modern slavery.”
According to Politico, the legal change could force private companies seeking NHS contracts to meet modern slavery criteria, potentially creating a blacklist of companies that fail the tests.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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