Press Release – For immediate release
4 December 2020
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
+49 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

The World Uyghur Congress welcomes the “14. Report of the German Government on its Human Rights Policies“, which highlights the human right crisis in East Turkistan. In this new report the German Government criticizes the Chinese Government more explicitly for its gross human rights violations against the Uyghurs.

“In particular, the human rights situation in Xinjiang has further deteriorated due to the expansion of repression, surveillance and mass internment”, the report stated. Moreover, the German government expressed its deep concern about “forced labor and governmental coercive measures to control the birth rate” put in place by the Chinese government. This document also refers to multiple reports on organ harvesting practices on Uyghurs.  

In the past 3 years, 1.8-3 million Uyghurs have been detained in camps, Uyghur women have been sterilized in an attempt to diminish the Uyghur population, Uyghurs have been subjected to forced labour and modern slavery, Uyghur language has been banned in many schools and prefectures, every the most basic expressions of religious sentiment have been criminalized, Uyghur mosques, shrines, graveyards and homes have been destroyed, children have been taken away from their families and the CCP has sought to eradicate the Uyghur identity and forcibly assimilate the Uyghur people. The number of atrocities the Uyghur people have been forced to endure is heartbreaking and fits the definition of genocide under the UN Genocide Convention.

The German Government has been very active addressing the Uyghur crisis at the UN. This October, the German Ambassador, Mr. Heusgen, delivered a statement on behalf of 39 countries to the UN in New York. Germany also signed two joint letters addressed to UN High Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet condemning the  egregious crimes committed against the Uyghurs and calling for unfettered access to East Turkistan. Nevertheless, Germany’s close trade relationship with China prevented the government from adopting a tougher stance against the regime. Business as usual must not continue with a government actively committing genocide and other atrocities. China has routinely failed to uphold its commitments to respect human rights. 

Recent reports have shown that the supply chain of German companies like Adidas, Puma, BMW are tainted by Uyghur forced labour. On the other hand, Siemens is suspected of being involved in the serious human rights violations against the Uyghurs in East Turkistan. The multinational company cooperated with China Electronics Technology Group Cooperation (CETC), which developed a surveillance app to monitor the everyday life of Uyghuhrs in East Turkistan. Despite these severe accusations, Siemens has not shown transparency   regarding its cooperation with CETC. The German chemical group BASF is running a factory in the city Korla close to a detention center. Volkswagen, which is operating a factory in Urumqi surrounded by internment camps , signed an agreement with the People’s Armed Police, which is responsible for the detention of 1.8 to 3 Million Uyghurs and other Turkic groups.  Both of these German companies have failed to guarantee that Uyghurs are not subjected to forced labour or detention.

“China is committing a genocide against the Uyghurs and other Turkic groups. We cannot stay idle to this genocide when we promised never again. The German Government needs to take meaningful actions to address the Uyghur crisis and to put pressure on the Chinese Government. German companies can no longer be silent on their business in East Turkistan. They need to make sure that they are not profiting from the Uyghur genocide”, said WUC President Dolkun Isa.

This year, Germany is holding the EU Presidency and a seat at the UN Security council. Germany now has the opportunity to make a principled stand and enact real change to address this tragedy. We call on the German government, especially the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, to substantively and publicly raise the Uyghur genocide n their discussions with the Chinese Government. Germany and the EU must hold China accountable for its atrocities and meet its human rights obligations.