Geneva, Jan. 22 -- United Nations human rights experts have raised a serious alarm over what they describe as the widespread and systematic use of forced labour by the Chinese state, particularly targeting Uyghur, Kazakh and Kyrgyz minorities, as well as Tibetans, across Xinjiang and several other regions of China.

In a latest press release, the UN experts stated that there is a consistent pattern of state-imposed labour practices that rely on coercion and intimidation. They warned that the severity of these measures could amount to crimes against humanity, including forcible transfer and enslavement.

According to the experts, forced labour is being institutionalised through government programmes officially framed as "poverty alleviatio...