The IOC has released information on an audit carried out on its Beijing 2022 uniform suppliers ©Getty Images

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has insisted its uniforms for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games were not made using forced labour - but an audit revealed "non-conformities" with one of its suppliers.

In a statement, the IOC claimed the audit "did not find any extreme violations against our IOC Supplier Code, including no forced, bonded, indentured or child labour".

The organisation added that uniforms made by Hengyuanxiang (HYX) Group did not use cotton from the Xinjiang region of China, where the United States and other nations allege the country is committing a "genocide" on Uyghur Muslims.

Non-conformities were discovered in the audit of Anta Sports - which is also known to get some of its cotton from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region - "including on health and safety, working hours and wages", the IOC said.

The IOC promised the issues found "are being remediated as part of our agreed corrective action plans with each supplier".

Uniforms provided by Anta Sports also did not use cotton, the IOC added.

The IOC stopped short, however, of publishing the proof its uniforms were not made using any kind of forced labour that a US Government agency had called on the IOC to provide.

The IOC had come under pressure over its uniforms due to fears they were made using forced labour ©IOC
The IOC had come under pressure over its uniforms due to fears they were made using forced labour ©IOC

"This continued engagement with suppliers and their factories helps build awareness of our requirements both on the supplier code and around continuous improvement," the IOC said.

Allegations of forced labour in the region are among the reasons cited by the US and other countries in their decision to diplomatically boycott Beijing 2022, set to open on February 4.

China has also allegedly been conducting a repression campaign against Uyghurs in the region, with human rights groups claiming more than a million Uyghurs have been placed in internment camps.

Beijing claims they are training centres designed to help stamp out Islamist extremism and separatism.

China's actions in Tibet and Hong Kong have also come under scrutiny in the build up to the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in the Chinese capital.

The IOC has claimed the Olympics should be free from politics amid the diplomatic boycotts.

IOC President Thomas Bach has never publicly uttered the word "Uyghur", even when prompted to do so or when asked during a press conference.

Critics have claimed the IOC has pandered to China by refusing to condemn its alleged human rights violations.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are set to be held from February 4 to 20, followed by the Paralympics from March 4 to 13.