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

The World Uyghur Congress welcomes the newly launched crowdfunding campaign of the Uyghur Tribunal and calls for readers to consider supporting the Uyghur Tribunal.

Serious accusations have emerged of a multiplicity of potential crimes being perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) including murder, enslavement, wrongful imprisonment, torture, rape, and other sexual violence, enforced sterilisation, forced labour, and modern slavery, enforced disappearance, separation of children from their parents, forced marriage and other crimes including forced organ harvesting.

The Tribunal was launched in September to investigate these ongoing crimes committed by the CCP against the Uyghurs and other Turkic ethnic groups. Since its launch, the Tribunal has already received extended press coverage and interest from different governmental bodies around the world. 

The World Uyghur Congress has provided some initial evidence but the Tribunal will invite submissions from other representatives of the wider Uyghur worldwide community and from any parties who may be able to assist the Tribunal in its endeavor, including from the PRC itself.

This is the first independent People’s Tribunal on the Uyghur crisis with a mandate to impartially determine whether these crimes meet the definition of ‘’genocide’’ under international law, as defined in the UN Genocide Convention of 1948. Other acts might also constitute crimes against humanity. This Tribunal is led by prominent human rights lawyer Sir Geoffrey Nice Qc.

The Uyghur Tribunal was formed due to the inability of international organisations, courts, and mechanisms to consider and analyze the Uyghur crisis. Despite the severity of the situation, the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and the UN have been unable to entertain the question of whether or not China is committing genocide against the Uyghur people. This Tribunal fills this gap in international law, by providing a credible and independent assessment of the Uyghur crisis, after a thorough examination of all available evidence. The Tribunal seeks to collect and assess all evidence of the Uyghur crisis, a massive undertaking that requires support. If you are interested in knowing what precisely is happening in the Uyghur region, please consider donating to the Uyghur Tribunal, so that it can conduct its important work.

Mr. Nice and his highly experienced team are working pro-bono or at a fraction of commercial rates. To be able to move forward with this project, the Tribunal must raise a minimum of £285,000 to cover the cost of research, and to start the first public hearings in March 2021.

Any contribution is greatly appreciated. If you are able to contribute, please give what you can to help create an objective record of what is happening to the Uyghur people. You can donate here.

‘’Many individuals and organisations have been asking ways to contribute to the Uyghur cause. This is a rare opportunity to directly support the advancement of the Uyghur cause in the international community. This Tribunal is a vital step towards accountability’’ said WUC President, Dolkun Isa. 

The World Uyghur Congress is proud to be supporting the Uyghur Tribunal. Depending on the judgment, the Tribunal could enable states, international organisations, individuals, and others to take the decision seriously, and adapt their response to the Uyghur crisis.