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State of Arkansas 1
94th General Assembly 2
Regular Session, 2023 SR 34 3
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By: Senator L. Chesterfield 5
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SENATE RESOLUTION 7
TO ENCOURAGE THE STA TE OF ARKANSAS TO REFRAIN FROM 8
CONTRACTING WITH COM PANIES OR ENTITIES T HAT BENEFIT 9
FROM UYGHUR FORCED L ABOR. 10
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Subtitle 13
TO ENCOURAGE THE STATE OF ARKANSAS TO 14
REFRAIN FROM CONTRACTING WITH COMPANIES 15
OR ENTITIES THAT BENEFIT FROM UYGHUR 16
FORCED LABOR. 17
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WHEREAS, there is currently a genocide occurring in Xinjiang, China 19
that is documented through investigations, including credible investigative 20
journalism outlets, Congressional Findings, formal reports issued by the 21
United States Department of State, the United States Department of Homeland 22
Security, and other agencies; and 23
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WHEREAS, outside the internment camps and prisons, the Xinjiang 25
government is implementing an apartheid -like system of persecution of 26
ordinary people, including forced sterilization, forced birth control, forced 27
abortion, forced marriage, forced labor, and other atrocity crimes; and 28
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WHEREAS, these camps target citizens on the basis of their religious 30
and ethnic identity, especially Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and Kyrgyz, and other 31
Turkic majority-Muslim peoples; and 32
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WHEREAS, within the camps, detainees are required to memorize Communist 34
propaganda, repeat the anthems of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and are 35
forbidden from expressing any form of their religion including, but not 36 SR34
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limited to: praying, abstaining from forbidden foods, owning religious books, 1
having a beard, or wearing the hijab; and 2
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WHEREAS, Uyghurs under China’s 24 -7 surveillance systems are unable to 4
speak publicly without risking immediate detention and international 5
observers must provide a voice for the voiceless by ensuring by law that 6
international business operations do not lend support and assistance to the 7
atrocity crimes detailed above; and 8
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WHEREAS, the United States Department of State, United States 10
Department of the Treasury, United States Department of Commerce, United 11
States Department of Labor, and United States Department of Homeland Security 12
have condemned the Chinese government’s repression of Uyghurs, and have 13
twice, in July 2020 and July 2021, warned A merican businesses that there is a 14
“high risk” of complicity, and of violating United States laws, unless they 15
conduct a detailed analysis of their global supply chains; and 16
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WHEREAS, in February of 2022, the United States led a diplomatic 18
boycott of the Winter Olympics held in Beijing, China, because of the human 19
rights abuses of the country; and 20
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WHEREAS, former Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, 22
and the Environment, Keith Krach issued a letter confirming that the People's 23
Republic of China is committing some of the most serious acts involving mass 24
human rights abuses since World War II and stated that “corporate 25
responsibility is social responsibility” and that companies should feel 26
obligated to dissociate themselves from the atrociti es occurring in China; 27
and 28
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WHEREAS, in June of 2021, the Uyghur genocide was condemned by the 30
Southern Baptist National Convention; and 31
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WHEREAS, many industries have been documented as linked to forced labor 33
in the region, many of which have been iden tified under the Uyghur Forced 34
Labor Prevention Act as high -risk products, including cotton, tomatoes, 35
construction materials, automotive inputs, and polysilicon; and 36 SR34
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WHEREAS, this is a cause that many Arkansans support throughout the 2
state, as seen through the widespread support of the youth -led End the Uyghur 3
Genocide project, 4
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NOW THEREFORE, 6
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY -FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE 7
STATE OF ARKANSAS: 8
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THAT the Senate encourage the State of Arkansas to refrain from 10
contracting with companies or entities that benefit from Uyghur forced labor. 11
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