Uighur rights organization criticizes China for atrocities in Xinjiang

Uyghur rights organisation, East Turkistan Svenska Uyghur Komitet (SUK), lamented China's brutality against Uyghur children in a statement released on Sunday.

The statement also claimed that the UN human rights law for the rights and protection of children, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), is not able to protect the basic rights of over one million Uighur children who are still suffering in the XUAR.

In a post on 'X', the organisation said, “The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a cornerstone of international human rights law, aimed at protecting the fundamental rights of children globally. Yet, the atrocities being committed against over one million Uighur children under Chinese occupation, colonialism and genocide starkly highlight the CRC's limitations and failures in enforcement.”

The SUK statement further said, “The CCP has forcibly separated over one million Uighur children from their families, who have been held in torture camps or prisons. Deprived of the support of their families, these helpless children are victims of severe human rights abuses. They face physical and mental torture, forced labour, organ harvesting, sexual violence, and systematic indoctrination to erase their cultural and religious identity and make them loyal Chinese citizens.”

Citing the CRC's laws to protect children, SUK said, “The CRC clearly mandates the protection of children from violence, exploitation and abuse, as well as safeguarding their rights to education, cultural identity and family bonds.”

“The CCP's gross violations of these rights in East Turkistan demonstrate the CRC's grave failure to protect these vulnerable children. This situation requires urgent international attention and action to uphold the principles of the CRC and protect children from such grave human rights abuses,” it says.

The statement further said, “The silence and inaction of the international community in the face of these atrocities is a grave moral and legal failure. The credibility of the CRC is at stake; without decisive action, it will remain a mere declaration of intent rather than a robust framework for child protection. Urgent and coordinated diplomatic, economic and legal measures are necessary to hold the CCP accountable and prevent these violations.”

The statement also urged that the global community should use its power to ensure that the rights and dignity of Uighur children are restored and protected.

Anything less would betray the fundamental principles of the CRC and violate our shared responsibility to protect all children regardless of geopolitical considerations.

“The terrible plight of Uighur children requires a united, powerful and resolute response from the international community,” the statement said.