NEWS

Leading Lawyers Conclude China is Committing Crimes against Humanity and Genocide in East Turkistan
The Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), in partnership with the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), has obtained an authoritative legal opinion on the treatment of Uyghurs by Chinese authorities. In what is the first legal opinion published by barristers pursuant to formal instructions, leading lawyers at Essex Court Chambers (London), led by Alison McDonald QC, conclude that the available evidence credibly establishes that crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide have been committed.

The Opinion outlines how there is a credible case that, as part of a widespread and systematic attack on the Uyghur people in the region, crimes against humanity are taking place including enslavement, imprisonment, torture, rape, enforced steriliation, enforced disappearance and persecution. Significantly, it further explains the credible case that the crime of genocide is occurring, as there is evidence of an intent to destroy the Uyghur population as such, including through a pattern of Chinese State-mandated conduct. This conduct includes the intentional infliction of serious physical and mental harm to Uyghur people in detention, measures to prevent births within the Uyghur community and forcible transfer of Uyghur children outside of their communities.

The significance of these findings is far reaching. If a court reaches the same conclusions as those reached by the legal experts at Essex Court Chambers, it could have both political and legal consequences for China itself, and for the high-ranking officials whose individual responsibility is identified, and who may be liable for criminal prosecution and individual sanctions.

UK Genocide Amendment to the Trade Bill
In order to prevent the approvement of the Genocide Amendment to the Trade Bill, Ministers have made a package deal out of two separate bills, meaning  that deputies could only vote for the the genocide amendment, backed by the conservative party, and the human rights amendment, sponsored by the abour party, together not seperatly. It was expected that the majority of conservative MPs would have approved the the genocide amendment but not the human rights amendment. WUC is deeply disappointed by the tactical moves of the UK government giving that China is committing a genocide against Uyghurs. It is expected that the Genocide Amendment will return to the House of Common next week.

Stop Uyghur Forced Labour
On February 7, HRW called in a submission to the Australia’s Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation committee on the government to strengthen legislation to suspend the imports of goods made with Uyghur forced labour. Senator Rex Patrick proposed the Customs Amendment Bill 2020 on banning goods produced by Uyghur Forced Labour is now examined by the parliamentary committee. In Germany, chancellor Merkel and her minister are debating on the final version of a supply chain law bill. In a statement the WUC called on Peter Altmaier, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, who has been opposing the bill, to ensure that companies profiting from Uyghur forced labour are held accountable. Furthermore, in Norway youth wings of the main political parties called in a letter on the government to rescind its normalization agreement with China and to stop free trade negotiations over China’s human rights violations.

Sexual Abuse of Male Detaines in the Camps
After the BBC revealed the mass abuse of women in the camps, Bitterwinter reported that men also  are subjected to rape by chinese men. However,, it is particularly difficult for these young men to speak up in public due to the disapproval of their friends and families. Some men only shared their story with human rights activists. In an Interview with Fox News, Tursenay Zaiwudun said “We’re humans, but the way they torture thses girls and even boys, it’s like we’re animals”. 

16 Members of a Uyghur Meshrep Have Been Confirmed Detained
On February 09, RFA reported that 16 men of a fraternal group known as a “meshrep”- a form of grassroots gathering that includes social, entertainment, and moral functions –  have been detained including the head of Kashgar Prefecture’s Department of Transportation. Four members of this group have been sentenced to prison after more than a year in Internment camps. Their “crimes” were related to organizing meshrep; to play music and tell jokes.  In 2010, China successfully petitioned to have Uyghur Meshrep included on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Both China and UNESCO have failed to protect this form of cultural expression.

Proposal on Uyghur Genocide in the Belgium Parliament
The WUC applauds the proposal of a resolution from Parliamentarians sitting in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives concerning China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in East Turkistan. The resolution, co-sponsored by MP Samuel Cogolati and MP Wouter de Vriendt from the Ecolo-Green grouping, most notably calls upon the Belgian government to recognize China’s crimes against the Uyghur people in East Turkistan as a ‘genocide’, which would make it the first European country to do so. A debate on the resolution will take place in the Belgian Parliament in the coming weeks.