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The WUC remains deeply concerned about the continued use of enforced disappearances by the Chinese government

Press Release – For immediate release
31 August 2014
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
0049 (0) 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

 The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) would like to call attention to the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, which took place on August 30, 2014. The WUC remains deeply concerned about the continued use of enforced disappearances by the Chinese government and urges the international community to stand together to condemn the use of this abhorrent practice. The practice has been used throughout the country as a means to silence activists, lawyers, artists and bloggers who act as vocal critics and opponents of the regime; something that must be respected as a fundamental and widely accepted human right.

By the end of 2009, August 30 was declared to be the day to which the international community pays particular attention to the continued and unlawful use of enforced disappearances by a number of states, including China. The day serves as a means to remember the victims, often targeted for their outspoken criticism of their own governments, as well as their families who are deprived of any information regarding the whereabouts of brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, sons and daughters. Not only has the day served to commemorate those lost, it has also contributed to raising awareness of the problem, which often goes unreported, and to highlight the work of significant institutions like Amnesty International and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

August 30, 2009 also coincided with the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances coming into force after the requisite number of signatures was reached. China, however, has neither signed nor ratified the document, but remains bound by a number of provisions in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which it is a signatory.

China’s recent amendments to its Criminal Procedure Law in 2012 have also been incredibly controversial in that security forces are now authorized to detain certain criminal subjects secretly for up to 6 months in undisclosed locations. This has, in effect, allowed state security forces and police to disappear supposed criminals under its already incredibly broad definition of terrorism. This is clear evidence that the state is regressing on its commitments to international law and internationally accepted human rights standards; something that must be addressed right away.

From the perspective of the WUC, enforced disappearances have become a significant problem in East Turkestan, particularly following the Urumqi protests in early July, 2009. Shortly after this incident, Human Rights Watch reported that 43 Uyghur men and teenage boys had been disappeared by Chinese security forces. The number is thought to be much higher, however, as independent reporting remains tightly controlled. Internet and cell phone service was subsequently cut off in the region for months following the incident as a means to insulate the area from external scrutiny. Since then, the state has continued is use of the practice to silence those speaking out on abuses by the authorities as Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director argued in 2012, “Three years on, the government is still silencing people who speak out about July 2009”.

The WUC calls on China to bear these serious issues in mind and sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, something which it has steadfastly refused to do. Although ratification will not solve the problem, it remains an important step in fighting against this practice. The WUC stands together with many other international institutions in its strong commitment against the use of enforced disappearances by repressive governments around the world and calls on all UN member states to raise their voices in response. The Chinese authorities must immediately account for detainees currently in custody and ensure that the practice ceases.