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Press Release: Uyghur Diaspora Convenes for a Summit in Munich

Press Release: Uyghur Diaspora Convenes for a Summit in Munich

Press Release – For Immediate Release
23 May, 2022
Contact: World Uyghur Congress
 www.uyghurcongress.org
0049 (0) 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

From 26-28 May, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), in collaboration with 21 other Uyghur organisations, will organise a “Uyghur Summit” in Munich, Germany, bringing together over 200 prominent activists, legal and academic experts, policymakers, as well as East Turkistan diaspora leaders from 70 organisations and camp survivors.

On the morning of May 26th, the Summit will begin with an opening session that will be joined by parliament members, NGO representatives, and legal experts. This will include the former Chief Prosecutor of Milosovic at the International Criminal Court and Chair of the Uyghur Tribunal, Sir Geoffrey Nice, Vice-President of the Czech Senate, Senator Jiří Oberfalzer, and French MP, Frédérique Dumas. Following opening remarks from prominent international guests, a panel discussion on “Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect” will further discuss the responsibility of the international community to hold those who are complicit in the Uyghur genocide to account, and which national and international mechanisms are available to that end. 

The three-day Summit will feature a series of panels and discussions focused on how different groups from various backgrounds can coordinate their work on the Uyghur genocide in East Turkistan. As the Uyghur genocide has become a foreign policy priority for numerous governments, there is an urgent need to explore new avenues of advocacy and strategies on accountability mechanisms. Key issues such as holding corporations accountable for their complicity in Uyghur forced labour and strategic litigation will be at the centre of the discussion. 

From the afternoon of the 26th until the 28th of May, Uyghur groups will talk about the outcomes of the international conference, and expand on the questions and best practices identified. These sessions, which will be held in the Uyghur language, will further seek to strengthen cross-country collaboration and advocacy between different Uyghur groups and organisations.

Journalists will also be given the opportunity to have individual interviews with camp survivors present at the summit, including Gulbahar Jalilova, Kelbinur Sidik, Omer Bekali, Gulbahar Hatiwaji, and a new camp survivor, Jiaziyila Aishan.