Press Release – For immediate release
3 September 2019
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
+49 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

The World Uyghur Congress is calling on German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, to reject a business as usual approach and substantively raise the arbitrary detention of 1-3 million Uyghurs with Chinese leaders during her upcoming visit this week.

Although the German government remains supportive of the Uyghur community abroad and has registered its concern about the issue over the last two years in various fora, it is now time for Germany to take a much stronger stance against what is now widely considered crimes against humanity in the Uyghur region.

Uyghur Congress President, Dolkun Isa, said from Berlin, “It is not enough that Germany continue to mildly call for a change in policy in Beijing alongside other negotiations. The resolution of the Uyghur issue must be front and center.”

Isa continued, “The German business community likewise has an obligation to act in accordance with the principles outlined in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The CEO of Volkswagen earlier this year made it clear that he had no idea that crimes against humanity were ongoing outside the walls of one of his car plants in Urumqi. This is unacceptable.”

The German Chancellor will meet with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, where she will be in the best position to demand that the camps are emptied and that Uyghur rights are respected.

Chancellor Merkel will also make the trip with a large business delegation, who should likewise make clear that no business will take place in East Turkistan or in relation to Chinese industries that may directly or indirectly contribute to massive rights violations.