Press Release – for immediate release
22 February 2021
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
+49 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) applauds the newly adopted Opposition Motion bill in the House of Commons of Canada, acknowledging China’s crackdown on Uyghurs and other Turkic people, as genocide. The WUC also welcomes the vote of Members of Parliament in favour of the amendment made calling for the relocation of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

‘’It is disappointing that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Cabinet called for an abstention on the motion. The evidence of genocide is overwhelming. The international community can no longer simply condemn this genocide. It is high time to take action. The Canadian government must lead the way with like-minded countries in a coordinated effort”, said WUC President, Dolkun Isa. 

The recent new revelations of gender-based and sexual violence faced by Uyghur, Kazakh and other Turkic women inside internment camps have further evidenced the atrocity crimes that are unfolding in East Turkistan, carried out by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Other violations, including the extrajudicial internment of 1.8 – 3 million Uyghurs, Kazakh and others, religious and cultural persecution, mass surveillance, forced labour and forced sterilisation on Uyghur women were also addressed during multiple hearings. 

This comes at a time where the question of crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide in East Turkistan has been raised within various other governments in the international community. Moreover, on his last day in office, former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that the U.S. had formally designated China’s crimes against Uyghurs as ‘crimes against humanity’ and ‘genocide’, making it the first country to do so.

In the United Kingdom, an amendment to the Government’s Trade Bill by a cross-party group of peers will be re-introduced this week in the House of Lords, which if passed would allow the U.K. courts to make a judgement whether it deems China’s actions to constitute genocide. 

In early February, leading lawyers at the Essex Court Chambers (London), led by Alison McDonald QC, published the first legal opinion concluding that the available evidence credibly establishes that crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide have been committed.

Accordingly, this motion bill reiterates the need for the Government of Canada to act in concert with like-minded governments and recognises the bipartisan support in the U.S. regarding the genocide determination. 

The WUC appreciates the numerous MPs from various political parties who have shown support and defended Uyghur rights in the Canadian Parliament. The urgency of the situation in East Turkistan calls for swift and concerted action from the international community, particularly democratic countries to alleviate the sufferings of the Uyghur and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan.