Weekly Brief, 17 March 2023

Weekly Brief, 17 March 2023

NEWS

WUC Organises Side Event at UNHRC on “Accountability in China”
On March 13th, on the sidelines of the 52nd United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), together with Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), the International Campaign for Tibet, and Office of Tibet, held a side event on “Accountability in China”. A crowded room with diplomats, NGOs, UN staff, journalists heard from Tibetans and Uyghurs, including WUC Program and Advocacy Manager Zumretay Arkin and camp survivor Gulbahar Haitiwaji, about the human rights atrocities carried out by the Chinese government. 

WUC Delegation Meets with Policy Makers in Berlin
On March 15th, a WUC delegation led by President Dolkun Isa met with German Members of Parliament (MPs) Derya Türk-Nachbaur and Peter Heidt at the German Bundestag to discuss Uyghur forced labour and how this is linked to the supply chains of car manufacturer Volkswagen and other German companies. Furthermore, the WUC delegation discussed setting up a Uyghur Friendship Group in Parliament, acting as a network facilitating the cooperation and coordination of supportive MPs.

UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-terrorism Highlights Uyghurs in Annual Thematic Report
On March 1st, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, presented her annual thematic report on the “Human rights implications of the development, use and transfer of new technologies”. Importantly, the report highlighted the Chinese government’s use of biometric tools in the repression of the Uyghur people, noting how ‘Authorities have conducted mass collection of biometric data (such as DNA samples, fingerprints, iris scans and blood types) of residents of the region.”

Exhibition “Uyghur: Reclaiming Our Story” Launches
On March 11th,  the exhibition “Uyghur: Reclaiming Our Story” started in Coburg, Victoria, Australia. The exhibition looks beyond the Uyghur Genocide, and portrays how Uyghurs in the diaspora are reclaiming their identity and the richness of the #Uyghur culture. “It’s a shame that Uyghurs are being introduced to the world through the actions of our oppressors, but across generations and borders of the diaspora, our resistance in all its forms defies the oppressor”, one Uyghur participant is quoted in the exhibition.

PARTICIPATE

Apply for WUC Capacity Building Training in Stockholm, Sweden
From 28-30 April, the WUC will host a capacity building training for Uyghur youth activists in Stockholm, Sweden. If you would like to participate, go to our website and fill out the application form!

Donate to the World Uyghur Congress and support our efforts to end the Uyghur Genocide
With your donation, we can continue our national, EU and UN advocacy campaigns, provide capacity building for Uyghurs in the diaspora and continue our promotion of human rights, democracy, and religious freedom. Please donate here.

Support Uyghurs’ Genocide & Crimes Against Humanity Case in Argentina
The World Uyghur Congress and the Uyghur Human Rights Project have launched a criminal case in the courts of Argentina in relation to the international crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity being committed against the Uyghur people. Please donate and be a part of this historical case.

Ask Volkswagen to Close its Plant in East Turkistan
Despite growing evidence of the ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs, Volkswagen continues to operate in East Turkistan. The World Uyghur Congress is collecting signatures to demand Volkswagen to close down its plant in Urumqi. Please sign here.