NEWS

World Uyghur Congress Attends UN Human Rights Council
This week, the World Uyghur Congress’ President, Dolkun Isa, and WUC Program & Advocacy Manager, Zumretay Arkin, participated in the 50th Human Rights Council in Geneva, after two years of online plenary sessions.

During the 50th session, the Netherlands led a joint statement on behalf of 47 nations, urging the High Commissioner to release her report on the Uyghur situation and raise their concerns over the human rights violations in East Turkistan. Similarly, the European Union also raised these concerns in its own statement. Support for Uyghurs amongst UN member states has been steadily growing. with this week’s 47 nations compared to 43 signatories in 2021, and 14 in 2018. 

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Forego Second Term
On June 13th, AP news reported that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said she will not be seeking the renewal of her term as High Commissioner. The decision follows mounting criticism from human rights organisations of her failure to hold China to account for its human rights atrocities. This failure was underscored most recently by Ms. Bachelet saying that she was unable to speak to currently detained Uyghurs and their families during the visit, and that she was constantly monitored by Chinese officials. Most recently, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) joined over 230 human rights groups calling for Ms. Bachelet’s resignation, and has therefore welcomed the High Commissioner’s decision not to seek a second term.

Rights Groups and Civil Society Call for Urgent Measures to Protect Uyghur Refugees
On World Refugee Day 2022, the WUC joined a group of 22 human rights groups and 50 Uyghur organisations calling on governments and international organisations to take urgent steps to protect Uyghur and other Turkic peoples at imminent risk of refoulement. As atrocity crimes unfold in the Uyghur region of China – including mass detention, forced labour, and torture – Uyghurs outside China, including human rights defenders, are subject to persistent barriers to international protection and risks of deportation.

The groups further urge governments to implement further resettlement schemes when there is a risk of refoulement, to reject criminal justice cooperation requests against Uyghurs, for parliaments who have recognised the crimes against Uyghurs to launch investigations on transnational repression, and for the UNHCR to issue a non-return advisory for China regarding systematically persecuted groups.

New Report Finds Global Construction Industry’s Links to Uyghur Forced Labour
A new report, Built on Repression, PVC Building Materials’ Reliance on Labor and Environmental Abuses in the Uyghur Region, by Laura T. Murphy, Jim Vallette and Nyrola Elimä, shows that the global construction industry is at risk of complicity in Uyghur forced labour, finding that 10% of the world’s PVC (used in flooring & pipes) comes from East Turkistan and is linked to Uyghur forced labour, through participating in the Chinese government-sponsored labour transfer programs. In response, the WUC joined a statement by the Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region calling on corporations in the construction industry to stop sourcing any materials from East Turkistan.

PARTICIPATE

Ask Saudi Authorities to Halt Uyghur Deportations to China
Buheliqiemu Abula, her 13-year-old daughter, Nuermaimaiti Ruze and Aimidoula Waili are still facing the serious risk of deportation to China. Amnesty International is leading an “Urgent Action” through which individuals can reach out to the Saudi authorities to demand compliance with international law and cancel these deportations. Sign the call here!