A rights group representing China's Muslim Uyghur minority on Friday lost its case against the UK government, which it claimed had failed to investigate cotton imports allegedly linked to forced labour camps.
The German-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC) alleged that the UK government and police had blocked a criminal probe into the sale of goods sourced from Xinjiang, in northwest China.
Beijing has been accused of detaining upwards of one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in camps in its far west. A United Nations report in August cited possible crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.
The non-governmental organisation brought the case against the interior ministry, tax department and the National Crime Agency at the High Court in London.
But judge Ian Dove on Friday rejected the WUC's case, saying there were "problems" over identifying the required level of proof needed regarding cotton consignments to launch criminal investigations.
The government had committed "no error" in its assessment of the legal tools highlighted by WUC, he said.
Despite the ruling, Dove said the case "does not in any way undermine the striking consensus in the evidence that there are clear and widespread abuses in the cotton industry... involving human rights violations and the exploitation of forced labour".
Dolkun Isa, president of the WUC, said it was a "greatly disappointing outcome for the Uyghur community", adding that it would "continue to hold the Chinese government accountable".
Rights groups say more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are detained in what the United States and lawmakers in some Western countries have said amounts to genocide.
The UK parliament passed a non-binding declaration last year that crimes against humanity and genocide were being committed in Xinjiang.
A recent United Nations report found credible allegations of torture and forced labour there.
However, Beijing has long denied any such accusations, claiming the United States and Western allies are using the issue as a "political tool".
In its legal filing, the WUC warned there was a "high risk" that cotton products sourced from some Chinese businesses by British companies could be produced by "prison or forced labour".
It said the UK government had "resolutely declined to engage" in evidence gathered since 2020 showing the "horrors" allegedly perpetrated against Uyghur people.
Lawyers for the UK government said the NCA had concluded there was "insufficient material from which to develop any line of inquiry or criminal investigation".
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UNILEVER PLC
