Problem
Abuse of prison labour
Other Names:
Export of prison-made productsCivilian labour camps
Re-education camps
Education through labour
Political concentration camps
Incidence:
Chinese labour camps, so-called "re-education through labour", is a legal practice dating from 1957 and subsequently endorsed in 1982, which is an administrative measure of compulsory educative reform which China had adopted to discourage and reduce crime and safeguard public law and order. Whilst the Chinese government emphasizes that the rights provided for under the Constitution and laws are guaranteed for the inmates in re-education facilities, it is believed that this system is widely abused to detain political prisoners without charges. The 20 million prisoners in China in 1990 produced a total output of goods and services so large that it is routinely included in the country's GNP statistics. Prisoners can also be leased as labour to any Western company wishing to open a factory in China.
Broader Problems:
Forced labourConcentration campsExploitation in employmentUnethical practices in prisonsCivilian political prisoners and detainees Related Problems:
Debt slaveryUnproductive workersPolitical indoctrinationForced disappearance of personsInadequate prison conditions and penal systems Aggravates:
Internment without trialMaltreatment of prisonersUnfair competition from convict-made goods Strategies:
Using prison labour Subject(s):
Commerce → Import, exportEducation → Education
Government → Citizenship
Government → Political
Health Care → Rehabilitation
Industry → Manufacture
Industry → Products
Social Activity → Work
Societal Problems → Detention
Societal Problems → Maltreatment
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
D: Detailed problems Date of last update
08.09.2021 – 19:48 CEST