Press Statement– For immediate Release
11 December 2023
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
+49 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

Last week, from December 7 – 8, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel attended the EU-China Summit in Beijing, where they met with Xi Jinping, and China’s Premier, Li Qiang. This is the first summit between the two countries, to take place in person after four years, and focused primarily on the trade and economic cooperation between China and the EU.

The EU press release, in a short sentence, mentioned that the EU “reiterated its deep concerns about the human rights situation in China, notably systemic human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet, forced labour, the treatment of human rights defenders and persons belonging to minorities, as well as the continued erosion of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong.” The EU’s concerns however, ring hollow without concrete actions to hold China accountable. 

“The EU is falling short in actively addressing Beijing’s atrocity crimes. Instead business seems to continue as usual”, said World Uyghur Congress President, Dolkun Isa. “By now, the EU should know that without clear standard setting, China’s behaviour is being normalised. The EU is sending the message that China can continue its genocide  without any serious consequences.”

During the Summit, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine stood in focus, as well as the importance of China to uphold the rules-based international order. From China’s behaviour and approach to the international system, the EU should stand more clear in defending its values, and limit its engagement with leaders who are committing a genocide. It is abhorrent to believe China is a reliable partner that respects human rights values. While the EU is adding Russian companies to their sanctioning list, Chinese companies involved in Uyghur Forced Labour should follow suit, alongside expanding the list of Chinese officials involved in the Uyghur Genocide. Learning anything from Russia’s aggression on Ukraine, the EU needs to urgently de-risk from China, as well as diversify their supply chains, to not allow for China to benefit from its gross human rights violations. Adopting a strong EU Regulation to prohibit forced labour products from coming into the EU, could help achieve this. 

The World Uyghur Congress calls on the EU to emphasise robust and tangible human rights based actions through a unified and strategic approach, aiming to address and challenge Chinese government policies, practices, and narratives that pose a threat to human rights in East Turkistan and globally.