"State-imposed forced labour is a systemic practice in China using both the state’s powers to detain and to assign labour." 

In July 2025, The Rights Practice published an important new report, "When the State Makes you Work. The use of state-imposed forced labour in China". We prepared this report to help inform decision-making and due diligence within policy and business communities regarding the use of forced labour in China. Our aim is to provide greater contextual detail than is generally found in the many sector-specific investigations into the risks of forced labour from China. The report addresses the use of state-imposed forced labour, particularly its use against Uyghurs, but also in prison.

State-imposed forced labour (SIFL) is a significant problem in China. It is driven primarily by political rather than economic interests. It operates through the deprivation of liberty in detention facilities, including prison labour and via labour transfer schemes in circumstances that violate the prohibition on forced labour in International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions Nos. 29 and 105.

Where forced labour takes place on a large scale and is associated with other rights violations notably discrimination on religious and ethnic grounds, such as in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) it may constitute a crime against humanity.

We provide recommendations for the government of China, other governments and businesses. 

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