Measuring Non-Internment State-Imposed Forced Labor in Xinjiang and Central Asia: An Assessment of ILO Measurement Guidelines

Abstract

Following research reports of widespread forced labor in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act took effect in June 2022. In September 2022, the European Commission proposed legislation prohibiting products involving forced labor on the EU market. This proposal specifies the use of 11 forced labor indicators published by the International Labour Organization (ILO). However, these indicators were originally designed not for measurement, but to help inspectors recognize signs of forced labor at workplaces. They are especially ill-suited to identify state-imposed forced labor mobilization processes—an understudied and under-conceptualized form of human trafficking. This article performs the first academic assessment of the suitability of the ILO’s lesser-known 2012 Survey Guidelines for measuring non-internment state-imposed forced labor systems found in Xinjiang and other Central Asian regions and examines how these systems operate. It argues that while the Guidelines are generally suitable, they require significant adaptations. Due to the inherent nature of state-imposed forced labor, policymakers need to reverse the burden of proof of forced labor or else risk severe underenforcement.