CUS Press Release
For Immediate Release
August 31, 2024
Uyghurstudy.org
Washington, D.C. — Two years have passed since the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report that documented severe human rights abuses and potential crimes against humanity committed by the Chinese government against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in East Turkistan. Despite the alarming revelations, the international community has failed to take meaningful action to address the ongoing genocide.
Released on August 31, 2022, the report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), concluded that the Chinese government’s actions against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples “may constitute international crimes, including crimes against humanity.” The report highlighted arbitrary and discriminatory detentions, credible allegations of torture, forced sterilizations, sexual and gender-based violence, and the coercive enforcement of family planning policies. It also criticized China’s misuse of so-called “anti-terrorism” laws to legitimize these acts and severely restrict fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion, expression, and movement.
Despite calls for urgent intervention, the UN Human Rights Council failed to act, with a vote to discuss the report being blocked—largely due to opposition from several Muslim-majority countries. This failure underscores the international community’s struggle to hold China accountable and highlights a concerning denial of the Uyghur Genocide within the Islamic world.
The situation for the Uyghur people remains dire. Millions of Uyghurs are detained in concentration camps and forced labor facilities, with widespread evidence of children being forcibly separated from their families. China’s actions also extend to a broader cultural genocide, as Uyghur language, religion, and identity continue to be aggressively suppressed.
Executive Director Abdulhakim Idris, stressed the need for global action: “The international community must take urgent and concrete steps to address these atrocities. This includes supporting legal action to bring Chinese officials before the International Criminal Court (ICC), imposing targeted sanctions, and ramping up diplomatic pressure. Sustained advocacy for human rights and religious freedom is essential to keeping the plight of Uyghurs on the global agenda.”
Two years on, it is imperative that the global community moves beyond words and takes decisive action to end the Uyghur Genocide. Failure to do so not only undermines international human rights norms but also emboldens perpetrators of such crimes. The Center for Uyghur Studies calls on governments, international organizations, and civil society to unite in demanding justice and accountability for the Uyghur people.
Copyright Center for Uyghur Studies - All Rights Reserved