GRC Launches Report on Critical Minerals and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region

On 25 June 2025, Global Rights Compliance (GRC) held a webinar to present the findings of its landmark report, “Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region.” The report reveals the exposure of global supply chains to minerals extracted and processed in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), the official name for the region commonly referred to as the Uyghur Region.

Samir Goswami, Director of GRC’s Forced Labour Programme and Project Director, opened the session by framing the discussion within the broader context of the systematic persecution of the Uyghur people. He emphasized that this persecution includes genocide, forced sterilisation, mass arbitrary detention, pervasive surveillance, and state-imposed forced labour.

Goswami presented key findings from the report, including:

  • 77 companies operating in the critical minerals sector or in the downstream production of critical mineral-based products are currently active in the Uyghur Region, where they are at risk of being involved in forced labour schemes. These activities span across titanium, lithium, beryllium, and magnesium industries.

  • 15 companies have directly sourced materials from entities based in the XUAR within the past two years.

  • 68 downstream customers maintain connections to Chinese suppliers with operations in the region.

  • 18 parent companies may be sourcing inputs through their subsidiaries located in the XUAR.

The webinar featured a compelling contribution from Yalkun Uluyol, China Researcher at Human Rights Watch, who provided a comprehensive overview of the systematic human rights abuses facing the 13 million Uyghur and other Turkic peoples in the Uyghur Region. Uluyol explained how the Chinese government’s “Strike Hard” campaign, initiated in late 2016, led to mass detentions and the establishment of an extensive network of internment camps and so-called “re-education” facilities.

He noted that state-imposed forced labour extends beyond internment camps to include prison labour, industrial parks, and government-run labour transfer programmes. An estimated 3 million people have been subjected to these labour transfers, which involve both public and private sector enterprises operating inside and outside the region.

Uluyol stated:

“The Chinese government incentivises enterprises to move to the Uyghur Region because of cheap labour and low environmental standards.”

He added:

“State-imposed forced labour is an extreme and severe form of forced labour […] and it is critical in evaluating and addressing overall systematic abuses in the Uyghur Region.”

Caroline T. Dale, Principal Researcher at GRC, offered a detailed breakdown of the research methodology, which relies on public shipping data and open-source investigation. The findings point to concerning concentrations of mineral processing facilities in China, and specifically within the Uyghur Region.

Highlights of the findings include:

  • Beryllium: Used in oil and gas, aviation, space, electronics, and defence industries. The majority is processed in China, the U.S., and Kazakhstan. China produces 21% of global supply, with 11% concentrated in the Uyghur Region.

  • Lithium: Experiencing a resurgence due to rising demand for lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes, scooters, and consumer electronics. The raw material phase of this supply chain is increasingly exposed to forced labour risks.

  • Magnesium: China produces 92% of the world’s raw magnesium and dominates smelting operations. Magnesium is widely used in automotive manufacturing, from tires to steering wheels and even fertilisers.

  • Titanium and Titanium Dioxide: China leads in global production and consumption, with surplus production fuelling large-scale exports. These minerals are used in products ranging from paints and ceramics to cookware, and are embedded in global consumer and infrastructure goods—from personal vehicles to landmarks like the London Eye.

Dale remarked:

“I see minerals everywhere – there is this real position that consumers have been put in of potential exposure between their coffee cup in the morning, the paint that they put on their house in the afternoon, and the car that they drive home at night.”

Given the widespread use of these minerals, Dale stressed the urgent need for consumers, governments, and industries to implement full traceability mechanisms that follow materials back to their raw sources.

The session concluded with remarks from Rahima Mahmut, Executive Director of Stop Uyghur Genocide, who delivered an urgent call to action. She emphasised that society has moved “far past the point of awareness,” and that the scale of state-imposed forced labour is undeniable.

Drawing on years of advocacy in the UK, Mahmut outlined the following key demands:

  • Ban imports of goods linked to Uyghur forced labour – including critical minerals.

  • Legally presume risk for all goods sourced from the Uyghur Region unless proven otherwise.

  • Pass mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence laws, with robust enforcement.

  • Reform public procurement policies to cut ties with complicit companies.

  • Establish an independent oversight body with powers to investigate, audit, and penalise corporate violations.

Mahmut concluded by stating:

“Clean energy must also mean clean ethics […] help us build pressure that cannot be ignored.”

For those who missed the live session or wish to watch it again, the full webinar is available anytime on Global Rights Compliance’s YouTube channel.