Systematic Oppression of Uyghur
Muslims in Xinjiang
Dr. Mozammel Haque
Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP for Chingford
and Woodford Green raised an urgent quest in the House of Commons on 29 June
2020 asking the government to make a
statement on the mistreatment by the Chinese Government of Uyghurs in Xinjiang
province.
The Minister for Asia Nigel Adams in reply to that said, “We
are aware of reports issued today by the Associated Press and the Jamestown
Foundation alleging that the Chinese Government are using pregnancy checks and
forced intra-uterine devices, sterilisation and abortion to minimise Uyghur
birth rates. These reports add to our concern about the human rights situation
in Xinjiang and of course we will be considering the report carefully.”
Systematic restrictions on Uyghur
Culture and the practice of Islam
He also spoke about the broader human rights situation in
Xinjiang is of ongoing and serious concern to the Government. The Minister mentioned, “This includes
the extrajudicial detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other
minorities in political re-education camps, systematic restrictions on Uyghur
culture and the practice of Islam, and extensive and invasive surveillance
targeting minorities. Further reports indicating that forced labour is being
used and that children are being forcibly separated from their parents add to
the growing body of evidence about the disturbing situation that Uyghurs and
other minorities are facing in Xinjiang.
The Minister also mentioned, “The Foreign Secretary raised
them directly with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister and State
Councillor Wang Yi in March. I also raised the situation in Xinjiang with the
Chinese ambassador to London in March. Since 2018, we have played a leading
role in raising these concerns at the UN. For example, at the UN Third
Committee in October, the UK read out a statement on behalf of 22 other
countries drawing attention to the human rights violations and abuses in
Xinjiang and calling on China to uphold its obligations to respect human
rights. We have consistently raised the issue at the UN Human Rights Council,
including at the most recent session in March, when Lord Ahmad, the Minister
for human rights, raised the issue in the UK’s opening address.”
“In addition, we advise all businesses involved in
investing in Xinjiang or with parts of their supply chains in Xinjiang to
consider conducting appropriate due diligence to satisfy themselves that their
activities do not support, or risk being seen to support, any human rights
violations or abuses. The UK will continue to exercise leadership on this
important issue, raising it directly with the Chinese Government and working
with partners to do so at the UN,” he added..
Mass Sterilisation of women
Sir Duncan Smith mentioned about a recently published
research by Professor Adrian Zenz. He said, “The Inter-parliamentary Alliance
on China—IPAC—which is made up of 30 other lawmakers from 16 global
legislatures, has today published research by Professor Adrian Zenz, the
world’s leading expert on the treatment of minorities in Xinjiang province. The
report shows that birth rates in the two mostly Uyghur regions plummeted by
more than 60% from 2015 to 2018. Across the Xinjiang region, birth rates fell
nearly 24% in a single year, compared with just 4.2% nationwide. Worse, it is
now clear that this is a direct result of Government actions. Unearthed
Government documents mandate that birth control violations that come about “due
to the influence of extreme religious thinking” should
be “dealt with severely”, and that those unable to pay fines should be “dealt
with through coercive measures”, including internment.”
“Mr Zenz’s paper concludes that these measures are part of
a state-wide crackdown that includes the mass sterilisation of women. This
report corroborates the many horrific personal testimonies that many of us have
heard. The genocide convention maintains that birth prevention targeted at
minority groups is indicative of genocide, and the convention binds individual
states to act, not just to rely on the international judicial system. Does my
hon. Friend therefore agree that the Uyghur people have been, and are, the
victims of mass atrocity crimes?” he said.
Sir Duncan Smith asked the “Foreign Secretary to go to the
UN and call for an independent inquiry, but, sadly, I also recognise that the
ways to deal with this through the UN will almost certainly be blocked by
China. Given that likelihood, will my hon. Friend at least get the UK to make
its own legal determination after weighing up this new evidence? Of course the
world wants to deal with China, but we cannot continue with business as usual
while this sort of blatant activity continues. Furthermore, given the Chinese
Government’s appalling record on human rights, their attack on freedoms in Hong
Kong, their bullying behaviour in border disputes from the South China seas to
India, their blatant breaching of the rules-based order governing the free
market and their delayed declaration on covid-19, will the Government now
initiate an internal review of the UK’s dependence on China, with a view to
significantly reducing that dependence, and call on the free world to come
together to ensure that this growing threat from China is dealt with together
before, as history teaches us, it is too late?”
The Minister for Asia replied, “As I said in my opening
statement, these reports add to our concern about the situation in Xinjiang,
and we will of course consider them extremely carefully. Any legal
determination would be a matter for a competent court. I reiterate that we have
raised concerns about the situation in Xinjiang at the UN General Assembly
Third Committee and UN Human Rights Council, alongside our international
partners. We will continue to make our concerns known directly to China and
bilaterally, as well as through the relevant bodies.”
He also mentioned, “On a full Government review, our
approach to China remains clear-eyed and is rooted in our values and interests.
It has always been the case that when we have concerns we raise them, and that
where we need to intervene we will. We have consistently led international
efforts to highlight concern about the worsening human rights situation in
Xinjiang, and I assure my right hon. Friend that the United Kingdom will
continue to do so.”
Uyghurs incarcerated in re-education camps
Labour Party MP for Aberavon, Stephen Kinnock said, “The
Chinese Communist party’s brutal campaign of oppression against the Uyghur
people is a scar on the conscience of the world. The Labour party stands with
the people of China, including the Uyghur people in Xinjiang, and we condemn
any actions by the CCP that infringe their human rights. We know that 1.5
million Uyghurs are incarcerated in re-education camps and subjected to
ideological indoctrination courses, where they must learn Mandarin Chinese,
recite laws banning unapproved religious practices and sing songs praising the
Chinese Communist party, and we know that beatings and
solitary confinement are routinely used to punish those who fail to comply.”
MP Kinnock also mentioned, “The accounts that have emerged
today about the CCP’s draconian measures to suppress birth rates are utterly
horrific—women subjected to forced IUD insertions, pregnancy prevention
injections, sterilisation. The CCP appears to be engaged in what some experts
are calling a campaign of demographic genocide. Will the Minister therefore
confirm that the Government will call for an impartial international
investigation into what is happening in Xinjiang? Will he confirm that the
imposition of measures intended to prevent births within an ethnic or religious
group is expressly forbidden under article II(d) of the UN convention on
genocide? Will he confirm that any country that is a contracting party to the
UN convention on genocide may call upon the UN to take appropriate action under
articles IV, V and VI of the convention, and that the UK Government will
therefore now make the necessary representations?”
He asked, “Does the Minister recognise that the CCP’s
actions in Xinjiang reflect a wider pattern of behaviour of increasingly
authoritarian policies at home and aggressive expansionism abroad, including in
Hong Kong, Ladakh and the South China sea? Will he set out how the Government
intend to defend human rights and the rule of law? Will the Government now
engage proactively with the European Union, the US and Governments in the
Asia-Pacific region who share our democratic values to lead the international
response in building consensus against the CCP’s increasingly belligerent
behaviour towards its own people?”
Nigel Adams replied, “We have played a leading role in
raising these concerns bilaterally and at the United Nations.”
He also mentioned, “We have concerns about the detention
and human rights abuses, with more than a million Uyghur Muslims and other
minorities detained in political re-education camps—some people may refer to
them as other things—and we deplore the systematic restrictions on their
culture and practice of Islam, alongside the targeted surveillance of
minorities.”
He also said, “On 10 March, at the 43rd session of the
United Nations Human Rights Council, we raised our concerns specifically about
the violations and with regard to forced labour in Xinjiang, under our item 4
statement. On 9 March, the Foreign Secretary raised the same concerns about
Xinjiang with his Chinese counterpart. As I said in my statement, I have spoken
directly to the Chinese ambassador to raise our concerns about human rights in
Xinjiang. On 25 February, at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council,
the Minister responsible for human rights, Lord Ahmad, directly raised his
concerns about Xinjiang during his opening address at the conference. We call
on China to allow the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
unfettered access to the region.”
Conservative MP for Rutland and Melton, Alicia Kearns said,
“Forced sterilisation of women; children ripped from their families; detention
centres to treat the so-called pathology of religious and cultural beliefs;
forced labour; rape, and DNA databases. In our history, we have learned that we must
all take a stand against systematic and industrialised efforts to eradicate
religious and ethnic minorities,”
She asked, “will my hon. Friend commit to using
Magnitsky-style sanctions to bring to justice Chinese Communist party officials
who perpetrate and profit from this cultural genocide of the Uyghur people?”
The Minister replied, “My hon. Friend speaks with a great
deal of experience in this area. Of course, she will be aware that the Foreign
Secretary has committed to making a statement about our sanctions regime. That
will be done before the summer recess. We have made clear our deep concern
about this report and the human rights situation in Xinjiang. My hon. Friend
will forgive me; of course, we will not speculate on who will be sanctioned
under the new regime, particularly as the legislation is not yet in force, but
she should not have too long to wait.”
Labour MP for Manchester, Gorton, Afzal Khan, said, “It is
clear that the situation in Xinjiang has deteriorated over the past years. The
systematic oppression of a whole ethnic minority group, who are physically
abused and psychologically indoctrinated, must be condemned. I am certain that
this pandemic has only worsened the conditions in
the internment camps and has created a double emergency for the Uyghur
community. Will the Minister condemn the persecution of Uyghur Muslims to the
fullest? Has he considered using Magnitsky powers for personal sanctions?
The Minister replied, “I refer him to the answer I gave my
hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Alicia Kearns) on Magnitsky-style
sanctions. The legislation will be cleared before the summer, so I am afraid
the hon. Gentleman will have to wait a little longer in that regard. However, I
can assure him how seriously the United Kingdom takes these human rights
violations and abuses in Xinjiang—demonstrated not least by the statement at
the UN Third Committee in October drawing attention to these violations, which
was signed by 22 international partners. We will continue to call on China—we
do so from here today—to uphold its obligations to respect human rights.”
Labour Party MP for West Ham, Ms Lyn Brown, said, “The Uyghurs
have been systematically persecuted for decades. Concentration camps have been
built for millions and we now have clear evidence that the Uyghur population is
being reduced through the forced sterilisation of women: so many early warning
signs of genocide.”
She said, “I do not want to use any company that enables
that and I would support any public body that felt exactly the same, but the
Government intend to ban public bodies from expressing their condemnation
through boycotts. Will they now reconsider?”
The Minister answered, “Our experience is that political
freedom and the rule of law are vital underpinnings for long-running prosperity
and stability, and that by having a strong relationship with China, we can have
open and sometimes difficult discussions on a range of issues, including human
rights. We have had very open and difficult discussions directly with our
counterparts in China.”
Labour MP for Bolton South East, Yasmin Qureshi, said, “I
declare an interest as the chair of the all-party group on the Uyghurs. This
new evidence shows that the Chinese state regularly subjects Uyghur
women—hundreds of thousands of women—to pregnancy checks, forced sterilisation
and even abortion. Some 25 years ago, we watched as the genocide took place in
Bosnia and in 2017 we saw that of the Rohingya in Myanmar, and now it is the
Uyghurs in China.”
She said, “It is about time that our Government—our Prime
Minister—went to the United Nations and asked for a resolution from the
Assembly to establish an independent investigation into the situation in
Xinjiang region.”
The Minister Nigel Adams replied, “I thank the hon. Lady,
the chair of the APPG on this matter, but she will be aware—I have referred to
it several times during my answers today—that we have been leading on this at
the United Nations. There is an issue with these resolutions being blocked, as
she will be aware, but I think the United Kingdom can in some ways proudly
declare that we have been on the front foot in ensuring that these human rights
violations receive international attention, and the joint statement with 22
other countries was testament to that.”
Tracy Brabin MP said, "The condemnation of the demographic genocide is widespread, but the only
reason we are debating this today is the bravery of those Uyghur Muslim women
who spoke to journalists about their horrific experiences. So while I, of
course, press the Minister for more information about the representations he is
making to the UN to get investigators into those communities to find out
exactly what is going on, I also ask this: what is being done to ensure that
those women who shone a light on this abuse are being protected and will not
pay the ultimate price for telling the truth about this horrific genocide?"
The Minister for Asia Nigel Adams replied, "At the risk of repeating myself, let me say that we
have raised this issue several times at the UN and bilaterally with China. This
report, which we have seen in the past 24 hours, adds considerably to our
serious concerns about what is going on in Xinjiang. It is incredibly difficult
to get access, and she will be aware that the lack of NGO presence and our
inability to provide support, through whichever Government Department, affects
that direct contact with the Uyghur women. It is heartbreaking to read that
report, which contains incredibly personal tales—we have all seen that in the
past few hours—and it adds to our concerns about what is going on in Xinjiang."
Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central, Chi Onwurah,
said, “The Uyghurs are singled out because they are Muslim, so their treatment
reflects global Islamophobia as well as Chinese racism. The terrible
persecution they suffer is often facilitated by technology, with local
companies developing facial recognition and other surveillance technologies
that they will then try to sell to us. The Minister talks vaguely about
encouraging due diligence, but what will he do to enforce the elimination of
human rights abuses from the technology supply chain?”
The Minister for Asia replied, “The hon. Lady speaks with
great knowledge of the sector. She must be aware that we have made it
absolutely clear to any British firm wishing to do business in that particular
region that they must they apply due diligence—it is essential that they do so.
We will continue to press UK firms in that regard, because it is the right
thing to do.”
Conservative MP for Meriden, Saqib Bhatti, said, "Time and again, we hear reports of
torture, rape, concentration camps, systematic brainwashing, forced
sterilisation and now forced labour camps that feed into our global supply chain. The
Chinese, of course, deny all those reports. Will my hon. Friend call for an
international delegation to visit Xinjiang, so that we can find out the truth?
Does he agree that global brands which may have these forced labour camps in
their supply chain need to look long and hard at how and where they source
their materials?"
The Minister Nigel Adams replied, "Yes, they absolutely have to look
long and hard at their supply chains, for the reasons that I have given during
this session. As I said, we have raised these concerns, and the report we have
seen in the last 24 hours adds fuel to our serious concerns about human rights
violations in Xinjiang."
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