Rare earth mine in the Uyghur Region (Peter Chou Kee Liu / Fickr)

Limiting Investment Exposure to Green Technology Linked to Uyghur Forced Labor

Event Details

to

The solar and electric vehicle industries are critical for the world's urgent transition away from fossil fuels. However, both industries source many of their critical inputs from the Uyghur Region, a region where the Chinese government is systematically persecuting the native Uyghur, Turkic, and Muslim-majority peoples, including through state-imposed forced labor.


This raises significant challenges for investors with dual commitments to climate change prevention and the safeguarding of human rights. Tackling the green technology industry's exposure to Uyghur forced labor is an essential step towards building a more equitable world that protects both the planet and the rights of its inhabitants.

 

New Investor Guidance co-authored by Anti-Slavery International, the Investor Alliance for Human Rights and Sheffield Hallam University and funded by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre, will provide investors with tools to better understand and address the risk of exposure to forced labor in their green technology holdings. This Guidance will be published alongside a briefing for policymakers on how regulation can facilitate meaningful action from the business and investor community on this issue.

 

You can watch the webinar here.

You can review the slide deck here.

 
This work launched on Janaury 25, 2024 and allowed attendees to learn how the investor community can protect itself from exposure to Uyghur forced labor, and with recommendations to investors, businesses and policymakers on how to ensure investment is re-channeled into companies which champion sustainability, innovation, and supply chain resilience. This 60-minute webinar included a short presentation of the guidance, a panel discussion with expert contributors and an audience Q&A. 

Speakers (bios) include:

  • Tomoya Obokata, UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery 
  • Babur Ilchi, Uyghur Human Rights Project
  • Chloe Cranston, Anti-Slavery International
  • Reginald Smith, Eventide Asset Management

The panel discussion was moderated by Anita Dorett, Investor Alliance for Human Rights.