World Uyghur Congress, 09 October 2020

NEWS

Unprecedented Criticism on Human Rights Violations in China at UN General Assembly

On 06 October 2020, a group of 39 countries presented a joint statement at the UN General Assembly’s Human Rights Committee, in which they denounced China at the United Nations for its treatment of Uyghurs in East Turkistan and for curtailing freedoms in Hong Kong and Tibet. “Widespread surveillance disproportionately continues to target Uyghurs and other minorities, and more reports are emerging of forced labor and forced birth control including sterilization,” Germany’s ambassador to the UN, Christoph Heusgen, said. The group of 39 countries present the largest coalition to have made a statement against China at the UN so far, which shows a growing criticism towards China within the international community. This was also visible in a counterstatement presented by Cuba, which was supported by fewer countries compared to the last joint statement in support of China.

Uyghur Organizations Call for Voting against China’s Election to UN Human Rights Body 

Ahead of October 13th, when the United Nations (UN) General Assembly will elect 15 new council members, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) – together with 69 Uyghur organizations from 18 countries – published a press release in which they called on the UN to vote against China’s renewed membership on the Human Rights Council, given its ongoing and systematic human rights abuses targeting Uyghurs. While the Uyghur organizations recognizeed the importance of the Council in its unique ability to bring states together for critical dialogue and exchange, they stated that for it to remain a credible body it cannot tolerate members committing genocide. “Appointing China to the Human Rights Council undermines the core values that the United Nations stand for. When electing States to the Council, their human rights records have to be taken into account. China not only undermines the concept of human rights, but also uses its influence in the UN to silence any debate on its horrific human rights record,’’ stated WUC President, Dolkun Isa. Prominent human rights NGOs including Human Rights Watch and Chinese Human Rights Defenders have also been campaigning against China’s election to the UN Human Rights Council.

Uyghur Students in Inland China Subjected to Invasive Government Controls

On 07 October, Bitter Winter reported how students from East Turkistan who study in inland China are subjected to disproportionate controls by the Chinese government. Speaking to secondary school and university teaching staff, Bitter Winter said that teachers are not only entrusted with the students’ education but must also control and supervise their daily lives. These strict controls predominantly focus on the potential religious activities of students, banning the possession of faith-related items or the performance of any religious activities. Taken together, these disproportionate controls can be seen as part of the Chinese government’s campaign to sinicize all non-Han Chinese ethnic and religious groups. In East Turkistan itself, this plan has already led to the widespread ban on any muslim religious activities and the destruction of at least one in three mosques in the region. 

IOC under Increasing Pressure to Move the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games

On 06 October, a cross-movement coalition, representing Tibetan, Uyghur, Hongkonger, and Chinese Democracy groups, were invited to their first meeting with International Olympic Committee (IOC) representatives since 2002. Activists joined to discuss the ongoing serious human rights violations facing those living under Chinese rule and to reiterate the call for the Committee to reverse its decision to award China the 2022 Winter Games.

IOC officials including Juan Antonio Samaranch, Beijing 2022 Coordination Commission Chair, was presented with first-hand testimonies about the current severe abuses across all areas under Chinese Communist Party rule including East Turkistan.

“Hosting the Winter Games 2022 in Beijing is a regrettable decision from the IOC because it will be taking place in a country that is committing genocide. This is a huge reputational risk for the Committee and it undermines the core Olympics values”, said Zumretay Arkin, WUC Project manager. “There is growing discontent from both governments and cross-party parliamentarians, and a number of high-level officials have also joined the #NoRightsNoGames movement. If Olympic sponsors, governments, and other actors join our call, it will be too late for the IOC to save its reputation.” 

On that same day, the Guardian reported that UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab stated that Britain may not be able to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 as evidence of the severe crimes against Uyghurs in East Turkistan is mounting. Moreover, Raab told MPs he was considering imposing economic sanctions on the officials responsible for the repression.

Western Firms Involved in Chinese Technologies used to Persecute Uyghurs

On 05 October, Minority Rights Group published its yearly Minority and Indigenous Trends report, which included a chapter on how international firms are benefiting from Chinese technologies used to persecute Uyghurs and other minorities. In particular, the chapter discussed how Western companies and universities have contributed to the development of, or made economic investments in, technologies from Chinese companies such as Hikvision, Dahua, iFlytek, and others. This arguably makes them parties to human rights violations in East Turkistan. The chapter stated: “Foreign enterprises, investment firms and research institutions in the UK, US and elsewhere cannot continue to proclaim their ignorance of the abusive applications of these technologies in view of the mounting evidence of widespread targeting and persecution of minority populations in China, particularly Xinjiang.”

Former Uyghur Teacher Speaks out about Atrocities inside the Internment Camps

On 06 October, Radio Free Asia published an interview with Qelbinur Sidik, who was forced to be a teacher in the internment camps in East Turkistan, where between 1.8 – 3 million Uyhgurs and other Turkic muslims have been arbitrarily detained since 2017. In the interview, Sidik provided a rare insight into the camp system, recalling instances of torture, rape, deaths and other severe abuses. Sidik’s accounts reconfirm the mounting evidence which points to China’s genocidal campaign targeting the Uyghurs.

New Committee to Investigate UK Businesses’ Involvement in Uyghur Forced Labour

On 06 October, Politics Home published an Op-Ed from British MP Nusrat Ghani, in which she explained about the new inquiry launched by the Business Select Committee on UK businesses’ supply chains linked to Uyhgur forced labour in East Turkistan. “The wilful blindness of the international community as China interns millions of Uyghurs and profits from slave labour is simply becoming impossible to ignore. What is less widely known, however, is the extent to which British consumers may be unknowingly supporting businesses which profit from the forced labour that the Chinese Government imposing on the Uyghurs”, Ghani stated. Many UK businesses are allegedly involved with the CCP or factories in East Turkistan, which will be investigated by the Business Select Committee.