Responsive Image

Weekly Brief September 21st

Weekly Brief September 21st

World Uyghur Congress, 21 September 2018

Sweden Announces Moratorium on Deportations of Uyghurs to China

The Swedish Migration Agency has made public its decision to halt deportations of Uyghurs to China until further notice. The agency published a legal analysis of the situation relevant to the decision acknowledging the systematic persecution of Uyghur refugees and asylum seekers who have been returned to China and the current human rights crisis in East Turkistan.

This is a very welcome development as Sweden has become the second state, after Germany, to make such a moratorium. We sincerely thanks them for these decisions, which will undoubtedly save Uyghur lives. The WUC strongly urges all states to do the same, as Uyghurs returned are immediately detained in camps and subjected to serious human rights violations.

We are also very pleased that the family of Uyghurs who were at risk of deportation from Sweden will no longer be forcibly returned to China, following the decision.

Arbitrary Detention of 1 Million Uyghurs in Interment Camps Raised in UN Human Rights Council

This week, during the 39th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the issue of the mass arbitrary detention of Uyghurs in internment camps was substantively raised by a number of states. During the Item 4 statements, which carry significant weight in the Human Rights Council, 5 states and the European Union raised the issue of the internment camps. The European Union, Germany, Canada, the UK, Finland and France all mentioned the camps in their statements, with Germany calling for China to immediately release all those arbitrarily detained in the camps. Sadly, not a single Muslim majority country raised the issue, with Pakistan and the OIC going out of their way to avoid speaking about it. However, prominent human rights NGOs Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International used their Item 4 statement to highlight the camps issue and to urge urgent action to be taken.

The WUC also participated in a side event on China’s internment camp system at the UN Human Rights Council 39th Session, co-sponsored by Partito Radicale Nonviolento Transnazionale e Transpartito and Society for Threatened Peoples. Speakers were German academic Adrian Zenz, John Fisher from Human Rights Watch and Dolkun Isa from the World Uyghur Congress who all laid out solid evidence for the internment camp system in China holding an estimated one million Uyghurs and urged the UN to take concrete action.

It was encouraging to see a building momentum and public cries in the United Nations for action to be taken to address the human rights crisis in East Turkistan. We urge other countries to follow their example, especially at China’s upcoming Universal Periodic Review in November 2018.

Wife and Child of Omer Bekali Released After Deportation Scare

The wife and 2 year-old son of Omer Bekali, a Kazakh citizen, were finally allowed to enter Turkey yesterday, after being detained in ATA Turk Airport for two nights, facing potential deportation to China. Mr. Bekali was amongst the first former detainees in China’s political indoctrination camps to speak up about what have endured in the camps. We are very pleased to see that this family finally reunited, but it was a close call.

We remind the international community that any Uyghur or Kazakh returned to China will face serious human rights violations including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and torture. We strongly urge states to honour their obligations under international law and the principle of non-refoulement and not to forcibly return Uyghurs or Kazakhs to China.

China has consistently targeted the families of those who dare to speak out and Mr. Bekali’s family has certainly been targeted due to his courageous testimony. Mr. Bekali’s decision to share his experiences i.e. the camps brought crucial attention to the horrible realities in the camps. The Uyghur community and the international community must strive to do better to protect those who speak up.

Amnesty International Launches Campaign Against China’s Mass Arbitrary Detention of Uyghurs

On Monday, 24 September 2018, Amnesty International announced the launch of a campaign on the topic of the mass arbitrary detention of over 1 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic groups in internment camps in China. Amnesty International also published a report based on the interviews of over 100 witnesses and individuals who have been directly affected by the internment camps. The prominent human rights organisation called on China to account for the over 1 million missing people.

Uyghur Activist Halmurat Embarks on ‘Free My Parents’ Tour

Finnish-Uyghur activist Halmurat is currently engaged in a tour of European countries to raise awareness of the disappearance of his parents and the mass enforced disappearance of Uyghurs in political indoctrination camps by Chinese authorities, more broadly. He has worked with Uyghur communities in Sweden, Norway and Denmark to organise demonstrations and events to raise awareness of the situation and will continue his tour in the next two weeks.

WUC and UHRP Participate in Events in the USA

Representatives from UHRP and the WUC participated in a number of events this past week in the USA to further raise awareness of the situation in East Turkistan and to urge the USA to impose sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for the camps. Nury Turkel, Chairman of the Board for UHRP participated in an event organised by the National Endowment for Democracy entitled “Behind the Walls: Three Uyghurs Detail their Experience in China’s Secret ‘Re-education’ Camps”. Other speakers included Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, Mamatjan Juma, journalist with Radio Free Asia Uyghur Service and Brian Joseph, Vice President for the Asia, Global and Middle East and North Africa Programs at the National Endowment for Democracy.

The WUC and UHRP also participated in a joint demonstration on 18 September 2018 in front the UN building in New York City to protest against the authoritarian government of Xi Jinping and the numerous serious human rights violations committed by the Chinese government. The event brought together Uyghurs, Tibetans, Taiwanese, Souther Mongolians, Hong Kongers and other Chinese activists.

Most Senior Uyghur Official in Chinese Government Investigated for Graft

Reuters reported last week that the CCP is investigating its most senior Uyghur officials, Nur Bekri, for suspected graft. Nur Bekri is one of the country’s most senior ethnic Uyghur officials who is also head of its energy administration and was a former governor of the restive region of Xinjiang. His arrests show that even Uyghurs who cooperate with the CCP are distrusted and being targeted because of the ethnicity. It further shows that Uyghurs lack any meaningful representation in government, as Uyghur officials are expected to demonstrate loyalty to the CCP, above all else, or risk punishment.