The special rapporteurs and other experts highlighted "persistent allegations" of forced labour affecting Uyghur, Kazakh and Kyrgyz minorities, as well as Tibetans, within the far-western Xinjiang region and other parts of China.

"There is a persistent pattern of alleged state-imposed forced labour involving ethnic minorities across multiple provinces in China," the experts said in a joint statement.

"In many cases, the coercive elements are so severe that they may amount to forcible transfer and/or enslavement as a crime against humanity."

China's foreign ministry last year said forced labour claims were "totally groundless".

The experts said forced labour was being enabled through a state-mandated "poverty alleviation through labour transfer" programme, which they said coerces Uyghurs and members of other minority groups into jobs in Xinjiang and other regions.

"They are reportedly subjected to systematic monitoring, surveillance and exploitation, with no choice to refuse or change the work due to a pervasive fear of punishment and arbitrary detention," they said.

Beijing claims these initiatives reduce poverty by providing well-paying jobs for low-income rural residents.

The Xinjiang five-year plan (2021 to 2025) projects 13.75 million instances of labour transfers, the experts said, adding that "the actual numbers have reached new heights".

The experts said Tibetans were also subject to forced labour through similar schemes, saying the number affected by labour transfers in 2024 was estimated to be close to 650,000.

They also said Tibetans were reportedly being displaced through "whole-village relocation" programmes, using "coercion to manufacture consent".

"Between 2000 and 2025, some 3.36 million Tibetans have been affected by government programmes requiring them to rebuild their house for nomads to become sedentary," the experts said.

"The labour transfers are part of a government policy to forcibly re-engineer Uyghur, other minorities and Tibetans' cultural identities under the guise of poverty alleviation," they warned.

They urged investors and businesses operating and sourcing from China to conduct human rights due diligence.

The statement was penned by special rapporteurs on contemporary slavery, cultural rights, contemporary racism and human trafficking, plus members of the UN working group on business and human rights.

UN special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to report their findings. They do not, therefore, speak on the UN's behalf.