ラルフローレン、ウイグル人強制労働に関与か　カナダ機関が調査

【オタワ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（ＣＯＲＥ）」は１５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、ファッション大手ラルフローレン・カナダに対する調査を開始した。（写真はファッション大手ラルフローレンのロゴ）
　ＣＯＲＥは先月、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・ゴールドについても同様の調査に乗り出している。
　２８の市民団体が昨年、「ラルフローレン・カナダは、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複数の中国企業と供給関係」を持っていると主張して、ＣＯＲＥに申し立てを行っていた。
　ＣＯＲＥ側は「調査を要すると判断した」としている。
　親会社の米ラルフローレンは、カナダの監視機関が調査を進めることに異議を唱えた上で、「（子会社に）意思決定の責任はない」「全業務は米国の本社が管理している」と主張している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/08/16-16:53）

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.
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.