Alicia Kearns MP has secured an adjournment debate in the House of Commons on 16 April on Solar Supply Chains.

Sheffield Hallam University's two reports 'In Broad Daylight' and 'Over-Exposed' have set out in detail how exposed the solar industry is to Uyghur forced labour.

This follows Alicia Kearns MP submitting a joint statement on 18 March 2024 to the Secretaries of State for FCDO, BT and ESNZ, calling for action to end Uyghur forced labour in the UK's solar industry's supply chains.

The statement highlights "the exposure of the UK solar industry to human rights abuses occurring in the Uyghur Region."

In addition, it proposes three measures to address these concerns and advance the Government's pursuit of a just transition to clean energy:

1. The introduction of import controls to insulate our market from all goods made wholly or partially with forced labour.
2. Complementary measures to enable the diversification of solar and other clean energy industry supply chains.
3. Targeted sanctions to bar offending solar companies from operating in the UK.

The statement was signed by forty-three Members of Parliament and thirty-two human rights NGOs. MPs from the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, SNP, and Green Party supported the statement.

The statement was signed by five select Committee Chairs, including Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Alicia Kearns MP, the Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP and the Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, Angus MacNeil MP.

Uyghur forced labour in UK supply chains was also raised at a follow-up sitting of the Foreign Affairs Committee into the Xinjiang Inquiry held in February, Chaired by Alicia Kearns MP.

The USA has already implemented strict import controls on goods linked to Uyghur forced labour through the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and the EU is bringing in similar restrictions with the EU Forced Labour Regulation. The UK is at risk of becoming a global outlier and dumping ground for goods made with Uyghur forced labour.

Companies alleged to have benefitted from Uyghur forced labour are currently in the planning process to build solar developments so large they qualify as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. The Secretary of State for ESNZ is currently determining whether to grant approval for the 350mw Mallard Pass solar plant application from Canadian Solar, a company deemed to have a high risk of exposure to Uyghur forced labour in Sheffield Hallam University's report.

Alicia Kearns MP previously tabled an amendment to the Energy Bill which would have blocked companies with links to forced labour from applying to build large scale solar developments classifying as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.

The Government has instead focused on an industry led approach, revealed in the Solar Stewardship Initiative (SSI) published last September. The SSI does not make a single mention of Uygur forced labour and has already accredited several companies with alleged links to forced labour. The Coalition

to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region has issued a statement stating that the SSI "fails its members and the wider solar industry by remaining silent on Uyghur Forced Labour."

Alicia Kearns MP will call for the following policies in her adjournment debate:

1. The introduction of import controls to insulate our market from all goods made wholly or partially with forced labour.
2. Complementary measures to enable the diversification of solar and other clean energy industry supply chains.
3. Targeted sanctions to bar offending solar companies from operating in the UK.
4. A national land strategy. Currently the Government does not even track how much solar is being built, let alone on what types of land.
5. Protections for best and most versatile agricultural land.
6. A standardised, industry wide level of Community compensation, something the Government had committed too but not yet delivered.

Alicia Kearns, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Member of Parliament for Rutland and Melton, said: "This debate will give me to the opportunity to once again raise the solar industry's worst kept secret – Uyghur forced labour in solar supply chains."

"I have already sent a statement to the government signed by forty-three cross party MP's and thirty- two human rights NGOs calling for three simple policies to clean up the UK solar industry once and for all. The solar industry has a well-documented history of supply chain links to Uyghur forced labour and we cannot tolerate our green transition coming off the back of slavery and genocide."

"The US has already acted, and the EU is passing regulations to protect their market from Uyghur forced labour. The UK is fast becoming a global outlier and dumping ground for solar panels made with materials mined and processed by Uyghur slaves. It does not have to be this way.

"It is a shameful that our planning system cannot even consider forced labour exposure when determining whether to grant approval for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, such as the proposed Mallard Pass solar plant in Rutland and Lincolnshire, whose main developer, Canadian Solar, has well documented supply chain links to Xinjiang and Uyghur blood labour."

Further Comments on the Joint MP and NGO Statement.

Rahima Mahmut, Executive Director, Stop Uyghur Genocide, said: "The Chinese government is carrying out egregious human rights abuses against the Uyghur people that amount to genocide. The UK has yet to adopt any meaningful legislation to address corporate complicity in Uyghur forced labour and is quickly becoming a dumping ground for forced labour made goods. How long do Uyghurs have to wait for the UK government to act? I urge the government to swiftly adopt and robustly enforce a forced labour import ban."

Sian Lea, Business and Human Rights Manager, Anti-Slavery International, said: "We urgently need to transition to clean energy for people and planet, and this means importing solar panels and other forms of renewable energy. But we cannot allow this crucial transition to be built on an acceptance of and complicity in human rights abuses.

"The truth is that the UK is at extreme risk of being a dumping ground for goods made with forced labour, including solar panels that are heavily linked to Uyghur forced labour. The Government cannot be sourcing goods complicit in these abuses. We urgently need the UK Government to invest in alternative supply chains that don't rely on the Uyghur Region."

"Alongside this, we need complementary import controls that would stop goods made with forced labour from entering the UK. While nobody wants to see crucial green technology seized at borders, we must make sure the green transition is not allowed to be built from human suffering."