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Providing Uyghur Leaders with the Means to Protect & Promote their Human Rights and Democracy

PRESS RELEASE

10th April 2008

Providing Uyghur Leaders with the Means to Protect & Promote their Human Rights and Democracy

As China’s economic weight increasingly encourages the international community to accept promises of “democratisation” and “human rights protection”, and with China preparing to present itself to the world during the 2008 Olympic Games, minority communities are working to remind the world that the People’s Republic of China remains a state in which the death penalty is applied more frequently than anywhere else, in which freedom of religion, speech, and assembly are substantially curtailed, and in which ethnic and religious minorities, as exemplified by recent crack downs in Tibet and East Turkestan (also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region), continue to suffer the systematic violation of social, political, and human rights.

From 20 – 23 April 2008, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization(UNPO) will gather present and future leaders of the Uyghur community for a series of workshops and seminars in Berlin,Germany. Participants will be introduced to the workings of international bodies through the officials and practitioners who know them best. This will allow Uyghur activists to advocate for their human rights at any international forum and to protect their human rights against infringement by the Chinese state.

The Uyghurs are the indigenous inhabitants of East Turkestan, a territory that has been under strict control of the People’s Republic ofChina since 1949. Like other minorities in China, the Uyghur population are victims of ongoing repression, including culturally destructive assimilation policies and substantial restrictions on their basic freedoms, with conditions deteriorating still further since the onset of the “war on terror.”

Participants will include Mrs. Rebiya Kadeer, a former prisoner of conscience in China, President of WUC, Rafto Prize Laureate, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee.

Therefore WUC and UNPO want to cordially invite you to attend the opening ceremony of the seminar on the 21st of April 2008 from 10.00 o’clock onwards at the Quality Hotel & Suites, Landsberger Allee 203 Berlin, Germany. This will provide you with the opportunity to interview Rebiya Kadeer and other Guests of Honour.

For additional information or queries please contact Ms. Erin Normile at the UNPO Secretariat, (tel.: +31 70 3646504)[email protected] or, Mr. Dolkun Isa at the WUC (tel.: +49 89543 21999) [email protected]

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UNPO is an international membership organisation based in The Hague, Netherlands with a long history in promoting and facilitating access to international institutions for its members, who are all characterised by their lack of representation on the international stage.

WUC is an international organization representing the collective interests of the Uyghur people, both in East Turkestan and abroad. Its main objectives are to promote democracy, human rights and religious freedom for the Uyghur people, and to use nonviolent, and democratic means to help determine their political future.