World Uyghur Congress, 27 September 2019

Jewher Ilham spoke during an event at the U.N. Headquarters in NYC

On September 23, Jewher Ilham, daughter of well-known economist and scholar Ilham Tohti gave a speech during a side-event organized by the Trump administration at the U.N. Headquarters in NYC.

Her father is still detained in China with an unprecedented life sentence, because of his beliefs and religion. She reminded the international community of the plight of Uyghurs and the millions of them being sent to chinese governmental indoctrination camps. She highlighted the importance for the U.S. to “stand up for people who are persecuted around the world for their faith”.

WUC and UHRP Representatives at UN General Assembly

On September 23 and 24, Omer Kanat, WUC Executive Committee Chairman and Director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project, and Nury Turkel, Chairman and Founder of the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), attended the UN General Assembly and a side-event on the human rights situation for Uyghurs organized by the U.S. State Department.

At the side-event on September 24, Mr. Turkel spoke beside David R. Stilwell, U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, and Scott Busby, U.S. State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Rights, Democracy, and Labor. Mr. Turkel addressed the inhumane suffering of Uyghurs at the hands of the Chinese government’s sinicization policy in East Turkistan and received a strong backing from the U.S. government representatives for an international response to the crisis.

WUC President met with EP members in Brussels

From September 23-25, WUC President Dolkun Isa met with European Parliament members to highlight the important work that the Uyghur Friendship Group has been doing inside the European Parliament, and to reinforce their work in the EP. Mr.Isa also presented the Uyghur cause to the newly elected European Parliament members, as well as discussing the upcoming events in the EP. 

The WUC, The Ilham Tohti Initiative and UNPO were all present to advocate Ilham Tohti’s nomination for the Sakharov Prize. 

China’s Model of Repression is Spreading to Serbia.

After Serbia already agreed to buy Huawei-made security cameras with facial recognition technology – first tested on Uyghurs in East Turkistan – it now agreed to joint patrols of Serbian and Chinese police officers in Belgrade. This development presents a serious threat to international security and human rights.

Peaceful March for Human Rights in China on October 1 in Brussels

On October 1, the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the World Uyghur Congress, the International Campaign for Tibet, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation, the Belgian Uyghur Association  and the Tibetan Community in Belgium are organizing a joint march and demonstration in Brussels to call for an end to China’s complete lack of respect for human rights.

They will be joined by representatives from Hong Kong, and human rights activists to collectively honor the victims of the Chinese Communist Party’s repression over the 70 years it has ruled China and demand that the basic rights and freedoms of all people in China be respected.