CAMEX Airlines “oppose use of force[d] labor in any type, shape, or place,” he said. “As per our knowledge and research none of our cargo comes from Xinjiang Province itself,” Seturidze explained, noting clients send cargo to Ürümqi airport via land from China’s eastern and southern cities, “so their airfreight rate is lower.” While they ship e-commerce, clothes, and electronic goods, he said, “the cargo is not originated from Xinjiang.”
Some cargo carriers say they are in the dark about what they’re carrying.
“We do not have direct visibility into, nor knowledge of, the specific contents, precise origin (beyond the airport of loading), or the production methods of the individual consignments of cargo transported by our customers,” said Zurab Kiparoidze, Georgia-based Geo-Sky’s vice president of legal and administrative affairs.
“We firmly state that we have no knowledge of or involvement in the alleged issues raised by UHRP regarding forced labor-tainted goods,” Kiparoidze said, explaining the firm’s “operations are strictly limited to flying cargo from one airport to another.”
British firm European Cargo said it remains “vigilant about the challenges of managing this risk,” adding that it adheres to U.K. laws like the Modern Slavery Act 2015 meant to guard against forced labor.
The firm said that it had recently updated its business practices in light of the World Uyghur Council’s successful court challenge against the British National Crime Agency last year. The NCA was found to have failed to investigate potential money laundering connected to cotton imports allegedly produced through forced labor in Xinjiang.