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Weekly Brief, 25 March 2022

Weekly Brief, 25 March 2022

NEWS

WUC Condemns Presence of Chinese Foreign Minister at OIC Council
Ahead of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which took place on 22-23 March 2022 in Islamabad, Pakistan, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) expressed its deep concern over the attendance of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The WUC called upon the OIC to reject the coercive influence of the Chinese government and break its silence on the Uyghur genocide. This call was heard by the Turkish Foreign Minister, who raised Turkey’s concern about the Uyghur genocide and urged the OIC to address this issue to uphold the values of Islam and the organisation.

New Report on Collaboration Between Arab States and China in the Transnational Repression of Uyghurs
On the 24th of March, the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) and the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs published a new report: Beyond Silence: Collaboration Between Arab States and China in the Transnational Repression of Uyghurs. The report assesses China’s efforts to target Uyghurs in a region they once considered safe: the Arab world. China’s transnational repression of Uyghurs in this region has been growing in scale and scope as the country’s relations with Arab states have strengthened. According to the report’s dataset, an upper estimate of 292 Uyghurs have been detained or deported from Arab states at China’s behest since 2001.

Amnesty International Calls Upon Saudi Arabia to Halt Deportation of Uyghurs
On March 23rd, Amnesty International urged the Saudi Arabian authorities to halt plans to extradite two Uyghur men to China. Religious scholar Aimidoula Waili and his friend Nuermaimaiti Ruze, who have been detained in Saudi Arabia since November 2020 without explanation, were transferred to the capital Riyadh last week and are now believed to be at imminent risk of being forcibly repatriated to China. If they were to be deported back to China, they would be at high risk of detainment, torture and other forms of severe maltreatment.

EU Highlights China’s Crimes against Uyghurs at UN Human Rights Council
On March 22nd, the French Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva delivered the European Union’s (EU) Item 4 statement at the UN Human Rights Council, in which it expressed serious concerns about China’s atrocity crimes against the Uyghur people, including internment camps, surveillance, forced labour, forced sterilisation, family separation, and sexual and gender-based violence. The EU further encouraged UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to publish her report on the situation in East Turkistan as soon as possible, and called for the immediate and unconditional release of imprisoned Uyghur economist and Sakharov Prize laureate Ilham Tohti and others.


PARTICIPATE

Ask your MP in the UK to Vote for the Genocide Amendment to the Health & Care Bill
UK Supporters, we’re calling on you to write your MP to ask them to vote for the procurement (genocide) amendment to the Health & Care Bill. NHS workers should never be clothed & equipped with the products of Uyghur Forced Labour. Write to your MP here.

Training Seminar on Forced Organ Harvesting in China
The WUC is proud to support the End Transplant Abuse in China’s (ETAC) training seminar on forced organ harvesting in China. The seminar is open to Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other groups from East Turkistan in the diaspora, and available in different time zones on March 27, 28 and April 1st. Participants will be taught about the body of evidence and how to conduct rights advocacy. More info and registration here.