NEWS

Leaked List Shows World’s highest Incarceration Rate In East Turkistan
On May 17th, groundbreaking reporting by the Associated Press (AP) detailed how a county in East Turkistan has the highest incarceration rate in the world. A leaked list obtained by AP News, containing the names of more than 10,000 Uyghurs sent to prison in Konasheher county, shows that 1 in 25 people in the county have been imprisoned, a rate more than 30 times higher than China’s, and more than 10 times higher than U.S. averages.

This figure confirms the sheer scale of repression against the Uyghur people in East Turkistan, something which human rights organisations, including the WUC, have repeatedly highlighted. 

UN Special Rapporteur Received China Funding to Whitewash Uyghur Genocide
On May 17th, UN Watch Executive Director, Hillel Neuer published an analysis of UN documents exposing how Alena Douhan, the UN Special Rapporteur on “Negative Impact of Unilateral Coercive Measures on Human Rights”, has received $200,000 directly from China. In return, she helped China legitimize its Uyghur genocide. In September 2021, Douhan appeared in an online Chinese government-sponsored propaganda event, titled “Xinjiang is a Wonderful Land”. During the event, government officials whitewashed the detention of millions of Uyghurs and the extensive Uyghur forced labour program. By lending UN legitimacy to China’s Uyghur genocide, Douhan is violating all of the ethical principles that are at the core of the UN and her position as a human rights envoy. The WUC stated she must immediately return the $200,000 she received from China, and be held to account.

WUC conducts advocacy trip to Sweden
This week, a WUC delegation led by President Dolkun Isa and Program & Advocacy Manager Zumretay Arkin successfully conducted an advocacy trip to Stockholm. They met with other Uyghur representatives in Sweden, a cross-party group of Members of Parliament, as well as civil society and  journalists. This trip is part of a series of advocacy trips to Scandinavian countries, following earlier visits to Denmark, Finland, and Norway, with the objective of urging these countries to take a firm stance on the Uyghur genocide, as well as establishing new partnerships and strengthening existing relations

Hikvision’s involvement in the Uyghur genocide
On May 17th, IPVM published a new report on the use of video technology for mass surveillance of Uyghurs in Mosques and concentration camps. The 32-page-long document details the widespread use of Hikvision’s equipment, including artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology, to repress Uyghurs by tracking their movements and actions. The report also mentions Hikvision’s responses to rights abuses allegations, which disregard the company’s responsibility for the Uyghur genocide (“We donʼt know where and how our products are being sold or being used.”) and fail to provide sufficient explanations to counter the allegations.

Camp Survivor Sayragul Sauytbay Wins Nuremberg Human Rights Award
This year’s International Nuremberg Menschenrechtspreis, an international human rights award, was awarded to Sayragul Sauytbay. WUC applauds her courage and determination to inform of CCP-perpetrated crimes against Uyghurs and other ethnic groups. As an eyewitness to the atrocities committed within the internment camps in East Turkistan, she has made a crucial contribution to exposing the Uyghur genocide. WUC representatives attended the ceremony, where they set up an information stand distributing information on China’s atrocity crimes.