Today, the Coalition to End Uyghur Forced Labour (the Coalition) urged all governments and corporations to take steps to end abuses against Uyghurs and prevent complicity with forced labour, at a public panel at the European Parliament in Brussels.
In a joint letter, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) and the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) called on the EU to extend its list of persons under asset freeze and travel ban for their involvement in human rights violations in the People’s Republic of China. The organizations submitted names of four Chinese officials for the consideration of the EU who are to be held accountable for their role in systematic human rights violations.
Below is an article published by The Guardian. Photo:AP.
The European parliament has overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on diplomatic officials to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in response to continuing human rights abuses by the Chinese government.
55 activists in exile – with the support of Safeguard Defenders, Hong Kong Watch and the World Uyghur Congress – have called for “urgent coordinated action to suspend all Bilateral Extradition Agreements between EU Member States and the People’s Republic of China.”
During tomorrow’s hearing on the Uyghur crisis at the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) will urge Members to move towards recognition of the Uyghur genocide. During the hearing, Belgian Representatives will be presented with evidence from experts on the Uyghur crisis, including WUC’s EU Policy Coordinator, Koen Stoop, as well as Uyghur camp witness Qelbinur Sidiq.
The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) applauds the proposal of a resolution from Parliamentarians sitting in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives concerning China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in East Turkistan. The resolution, co-sponsored by MP Samuel Cogolati and MP Wouter de Vriendt from the Ecolo-Green grouping, most notably calls upon the Belgian government to recognize China’s crimes against the Uyghur people in East Turkistan as a ‘genocide’, which would make it the first European country to do so. A debate on the resolution will take place in the Belgian Parliament in the coming weeks.
The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) welcomes the adoption of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime by the Council of the European Union on Monday. The sanctions regime will allow the European Union (EU) to target individuals, bodies, and entities who are responsible for, or otherwise associated with, serious human rights violations, irrespective of where they occur. This is of major importance for the Uyghur people, as for the first time, the EU possesses a concrete mechanism to hold perpetrators of the atrocities against Uyghurs to account.
Brussels, 28 September 2020 – On 1st October, the 71st anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the World Uyghur Congress, the International Campaign for Tibet, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation, the Belgian Uyghur Association, Lungta – Actief voor Tibet and the Tibetan Community in Belgium are organizing a demonstration in Brussels in order to call on the EU to take urgent and concrete action to hold China accountable for its serious human rights violations. The joint protest will take place from 13:00-14:00 on Petite Rue de la Loi near Schuman roundabout.