World Uyghur Congress urges global action amid ongoing human rights violations in China

In its press release, the WUC highlighted that since 1949, the PRC occupation of East Turkestan has resulted in widespread repression. Erkin Ekrem, interim president of the WUC, underlined that October 1 marks the loss of freedom for Uyghurs and called for unity against the Chinese government's brutal human rights violations, which target cultural and religious identities and suppress dissent. ,

WUC says China has intensified its human rights abuses, rejected the UN human rights system and rejected a significant portion of the recommendations of the UN Universal Periodic Review. Despite this, global leaders are increasingly engaging with the PRC, even as the second anniversary of the OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) assessment raises concerns about possible crimes against humanity in East Turkistan.

The WUC demanded the release of millions of arbitrarily detained Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic peoples and called for an end to genocidal policies in East Turkistan. He urged the international community to set clear and measurable goals for engagement with China, hold the government accountable, and implement targeted sanctions against individuals involved in the genocide.

Furthermore, the WUC advocated for the self-determination rights of the Uyghur people and stressed the need for ongoing dialogue with civil society organizations to ensure that policies reflect the perspectives of those directly affected by the repression.

China faces increasing scrutiny from the international community regarding its human rights record, particularly its policies in areas such as Xinjiang (East Turkestan), Tibet and Hong Kong. Reports of human rights violations in Xinjiang, home to the Uyghur population and other Turkic ethnic groups, have increased in recent years.

The Chinese government has been accused of detaining more than one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in “vocational training centers”, but many experts and human rights advocates describe these as internment camps aimed at cultural assimilation. Accusations included forced labour, torture, suppression of education and religious practices.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has warned about possible crimes against humanity in the region, stressing that these actions are based on their intention to destroy, in whole or in part, distinct ethnic and cultural identities. Massacres may occur. ,