ナイキなど２社、ウイグル人強制労働に関与か　カナダで調査

【モントリオールＡＦＰ＝時事】カナダの監視機関、「責任ある企業のためのカナダ・オンブズパーソン」は１１日、中国の新疆ウイグル自治区の少数民族ウイグル人の強制労働への関与が疑われるとして、スポーツ用品大手ナイキ・カナダと同国の鉱山会社ダイナスティー・ゴールドを調査していると発表した。（写真は資料写真）
　昨年６月に、２８の市民団体から両社の国外事業について複数の申し立てが寄せられたのを受けての措置。
　ナイキ・カナダについては、「ウイグル人の強制労働の利用または利益享受が確認された中国の複数企業と供給関係」を持った疑いがかけられている。ナイキ側は、対象となる企業との取引関係は既にないと主張し、そうした企業のリスク調査に関する情報を提供したとしている。
　ダイナスティー・ゴールドについては「株式の過半数を保有する中国の鉱山でウイグル人の強制労働によって利益を享受した」とみられている。同社は、同鉱山の運営管理は行っておらず、申し立てが行われた時期には鉱山がある地域での事業から撤退していたと主張している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/07/12-16:57）

Sporting giant Nike and mining company Dynasty Gold are being investigated in Canada over allegations they used forced labor from China's Uyghur minority, a Canadian watchdog announced Tuesday.
The companies are both alleged to have or have had supply chains or operations in the People's Republic of China identified as using or benefitting from the use of Uyghur forced labor, a statement from the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise said.
The investigations were announced after a coalition of 28 civil society organizations filed several complaints in June last year about the overseas activities of the two Canadian companies, according to the statement.
Nike Canada is suspected of having supply relationships with Chinese companies identified as using or benefitting from the use of Uyghur forced labor. Nike maintains that they no longer have ties with these companies and provided information on their due diligence practices, the statement said.
The second investigation targeting Dynasty Gold alleges that the company benefited from the use of Uyghur forced labor at a mine in China in which Dynasty Gold holds a majority interest.
Dynasty Gold's response to the complaint is that it does not have operational control over the mine and that these allegations arose after it left the region, the statement continued.
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.
The announcement of the investigation was welcomed by the Ottawa-based Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, which applauded an important step in the right direction.
Asked for response late Tuesday by AFP, the sports giant did not immediately respond.
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.
In April, the French justice system closed a preliminary investigation into clothing giants such as Uniqlo and Zara owner Inditex, accused by associations of having profited from the forced labor of Uyghurs in China.
A new complaint was filed in May.