Uyghurs: After imports ban on China's Xinjiang cotton and tomatoes, US Senate passes important bill

Hardening its stand on alleged human rights abuses of the mostly Muslim Uyghur group, the US Senate has passed a bill to ban imports from China's Xinjiang region.

This is a major step in holding China responsible for human rights violations as the US has already banned imports of Xinjiang cotton and tomatoes.
The bill titled Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act must be passed by the House of Representatives before it becomes law.

China has been accused of abuses in Xinjiang against the Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups. China on the other hand refutes all the charges and terms the detention camps as being "re-education" camps of the Uyghurs and other Muslims.

According to experts, at least a million people in the region have been detained in camps or imprisoned as part of a crackdown that began in 2017.

"We will not turn a blind eye to [the Chinese government's] ongoing crimes against humanity, and we will not allow corporations a free pass to profit from these horrific abuses," Republican Senator Marco Rubio said in a statement, reports BBC.

The Biden administration has recently added 14 Chinese firms and other entities to its economic blacklist over the alleged abuses in the region.