Dr Mozammel Haque
On Tuesday, 12th
of January, 2021, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Affairs (First Secretary of State, Dominic Raab, M.P. made a statement on
Uyghur Labour Camps in the House of Commons, British Parliament. Cross-Party
M.P.s took part in the debate and responded to the Statement on the Government’s
response to the Forced Labour in Xinjiang, China. Many Members of the House
spoke about genocide of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
Genocide of Uyghur Muslims
Conservative Member for Bury South, Christian Wakeford
said, “The appalling and abhorrent persecution of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang has
rightly received sustained condemnation not only from all parts of this House
but from around the world. Let us not mince words and let us call it what it
is: genocide” said Conservative Member
for Bury South, Christian Wakeford, in the House of Commons on 12
January 2021.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, “Internment camps,
arbitrary detention, political re-education, forced labour, torture and forced
sterilisation—all on an industrial scale. It is truly horrific—barbarism we had
hoped was lost to another era is being practised today, as we speak, in one of
the leading members of the international community.
Liberal Democrat Member for Oxford West and Abingdon, Layla
Moran, said, “I was pleased to hear him say that more must be done. He also
mentioned: “Internment camps, arbitrary detention, political re-education,
forced labour, torture and forced sterilisation—all on an industrial scale.” Horrific
and barbaric, yes, but there is another word and it is genocide.”
, .
Conservative Member for Wealdon, Ms Nusrat Ghani, said,
“Secretary of State mentioned birth control and forced sterilisation, which are
markers of genocide. I am confused why he cannot call this crime what it is and
ensure that Britain is not complicit in genocide. He has talked about judges,
but we know that the UN is a busted flush when it comes to investigating
genocide and when it comes to China. Even though the amendment, which is in the
other House but will return here, is not perfect because it asks judges to get
involved, the Foreign Secretary has an opportunity to sit with colleagues and
come up with a better amendment that focuses on judges, not on trade, on
investigating genocide and on bringing that decision back to the House. There
is no excuse, Mr Speaker, to allow these atrocities to continue.”
Labour Member for Rhondda, Chris Bryant said, “We need only
listen to the Secretary of State’s own comments and read them against the
genocide convention to see that there is a clear example of genocide being
practised in Xinjiang now. Killing people, causing bodily or mental harm,
preventing births, forcibly transferring children—these are all the markers of
genocide. Of course we need to come to a view both in this House and in the
courts, but the difficulty about doing so through the courts is that China has
a veto. How are we going to make sure that we name this as it properly is and
that the people who are accountable for it actually come to justice? “
Labour Member for Bradford East, Imran Hussain said, “The
persecution, genocide and horrific human rights abuses faced by Uyghur Muslims
at the hands of the Chinese Government is an issue that I and many others
across the House have been raising for a considerable period, so of course it
is welcome that the Government are finally taking some action. However, this
action still does not go far enough, as pointed out by a number of hon.
Members. Even those Uyghur who have managed to flee China as refugees are still
being forcibly returned. So will the UK go further, and call for a full
independent UN investigation and push regional countries to grant protection to
Uyghur refugees?”
Labour Member for Bradford East, Imran Hussain said, “The
persecution, genocide and horrific human rights abuses faced by Uyghur Muslims
at the hands of the Chinese Government is an issue that I and many others
across the House have been raising for a considerable period, so of course it
is welcome that the Government are finally taking some action. However, this
action still does not go far enough, as pointed out by a number of hon.
Members. Even those Uyghur who have managed to flee China as refugees are still
being forcibly returned. So will the UK go further, and call for a full
independent UN investigation and push regional countries to grant protection to
Uyghur refugees?”
Labour Member for Luton North, Sarah Owen, said, “What is
happening in Xinjiang is the tragic reality of state-sanctioned Islamophobia.
Leaders within the Muslim community in Luton North have expressed to me their
horror at seeing this Government stand idly by while these human rights abuses
are carried out, including reports of the forced sterilisation of Uyghur women,
which is expressly forbidden under article II(d) of the UN convention on
genocide.”
Labour Member for Birmingham Ladywood, Shabana Mahmood
said, “The measures announced today are welcome, but they do not sufficiently
address the genocide against the Uyghur people and other ethnic and religious
minorities in Xinjiang. I noted with deep dismay his remarks about the
amendment to the Trade Bill regarding China, which many other Members will wish
to support. Will the Foreign Secretary at least acknowledge that efforts to
allow UK judges to provide expert input and make preliminary determinations on
genocide is, in the absence of any other viable legal option, the only legal
route to hold the Chinese Government to account and the only viable opportunity
in a legal forum to call their actions by their proper name: “genocide”?
Labour Member for
Manchester Gorton, Afzal Khan, said, “Although I welcome the Foreign
Secretary’s announcement on forced Uyghur labour, like a number of hon. Members
I feel that it failed to address suspected genocide against Uyghur Muslims. A
recent tweet by the Chinese Communist party branded the forced sterilisation of
Uyghur women as emancipation. The UN convention on genocide clearly forbids
such measures, so what steps is the Foreign Secretary taking to support the
appointment of a UN special rapporteur to investigate forced labour and ethnic
persecution in Xinjiang?
Debate on Xinjiang: Forced
Labour
in the British Parliament
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, said, “The evidence of the
scale and severity of the human rights violations being perpetrated in Xinjiang
against the Uyghur Muslims is now far-reaching. It paints a truly harrowing
picture. Violations include the extrajudicial detention of over 1 million
Uyghurs and other minorities in political re-education camps; extensive and
invasive surveillance targeting minorities; systematic restrictions on Uyghur
culture, education and, indeed, on the practice of Islam; and the widespread
use of forced labour. The nature and conditions of detention violate basic
standards of human rights. At their worst, they amount to torture and inhumane
and degrading treatment, alongside widespread reports of the forced
sterilisation of Uyghur women.
He continued, “Internment camps, arbitrary detention,
political re-education, forced labour, torture and forced sterilisation—all on
an industrial scale. It is truly horrific—barbarism we had hoped was lost to
another era is being practised today, as we speak, in one of the leading
members of the international community.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab continued, “We have a moral
duty to respond. The UK has already played a leading role within the
international community in the effort to shine a light on the appalling
treatment of the Uyghurs and to increase diplomatic pressure on China to stop
and to remedy its actions. I have made my concerns over Xinjiang clear directly
to China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi. We have led international joint statements
on Xinjiang in the United Nations General Assembly Third Committee and the UN
Human Rights Council. In the Third Committee, we brought the latest statement
forward together with Germany in October last year and it was supported by 39
countries.
Lisa Nandy
(Wigan) (Lab)
Labour Member for Wigan, Lisa Nandy, said, “The persecution of the Uyghurs has been
of great concern to hon. Members in all parts of this House. We have read the
reports and heard the testimony, and it is past time to act. There must be a
unified message from this whole House: we will not turn away and we will not permit
this to go unchallenged.”
Lisa Nandy said, “We cannot allow this moment to pass us
by. The Foreign Secretary was right to say that this is truly horrific, and the
House is united in condemnation of what is happening in Xinjiang. Members of
all parties want Britain to act as a moral force in the world. Despite today’s
disappointing statement, I believe he is sincere when he says that he wants the
same, but now he has to make good on his promise to back up words with real
action.
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, replied, “Finally,
although I think it is right that the courts determine whether the very
specific and, frankly, technical legal definition of genocide is met in any
given situation, it would be quite wrong for a Government or for hon. Members
of this House to subcontract to the courts our responsibility for deciding when
a country’s human rights record is sufficiently bad that we will not engage in
trade negotiations. Parliament’s responsibility is to determine when sanctions
take place and with whom we negotiate.
Sir Iain Duncan
Smith
Conservative Member for Chingford and Woodford Green, Sir
Iain Duncan Smith, said, “Genocide really is a vital issue for us, and my right
hon. Friend now needs to sit down with myself and others to discuss bringing
forward a better amendment to make sure that we can start the process. In this
week of the holocaust memorial, we need to act; after all, when they last did
not act, just look what happened.”
Dominic Raab
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab replied, “I am happy to
talk to my right hon. Friend about the issue of genocide. He will know that my
father fled the holocaust; I could not take it more seriously. I hope he will also
have listened to what I said to the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy); he will
be all too aware of the risks of subcontracting issues to the courts, which are
rightly the responsibility and the prerogative of this House, and also the fact
that, frankly, we should be taking action well below the level of a genocide in
terms of the Executive decisions that we make.
Layla Moran
Liberal Democrat Member for Oxford West and Abingdon, Layla
Moran, said, “I was pleased to hear him say that more must be done. He also
mentioned: “Internment camps, arbitrary detention, political re-education,
forced labour, torture and forced sterilisation—all on an industrial scale.” Horrific
and barbaric, yes, but there is another word and it is genocide.
She mentioned, “Given China’s blocking of routes to pursue
genocide amendments through international courts, does not the UK have a
responsibility, in line with its obligations under the genocide convention, to
find alternative routes to make the legal determination? Will the Foreign
Secretary clarify the Government’s position, which previously was that the
determination of genocide is a matter for judges, not politicians? He seemed to
contradict that a little today. I echo what has already been said about coming
up with an amendment that can get cross-party support: this House clearly wants
to discuss this issue and do something about it; we must act and not stand by.”
Dominic Raab
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, replied, “She is right to
point to the need for a court to determine the very specific and, frankly, very
exacting definition of genocide. When I was a war crimes lawyer, at the time—it
is probably still true today—that determination had been made only in relation
to Bosnia, Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge and Rwanda. It is very exacting and a
lot of international lawyers have criticised it for that reason. There is a big
difference between saying that it is for the courts to determine that specific
requirement under international law and saying that it is for the courts to
decide when and how this House and this Government engage in free trade
negotiations. Frankly, the bar would be well below the level of genocide, and
it is unthinkable that this Government would engage in free trade negotiations
with any country that came close to that kind of level of human rights abuse.
Ms Nusrat Ghani
Conservative Member for Wealdon, Ms Nusrat Ghani, said, “Secretary
of State mentioned birth control and forced sterilisation, which are markers of
genocide. I am confused why he cannot call this crime what it is and ensure
that Britain is not complicit in genocide. He has talked about judges, but we
know that the UN is a busted flush when it comes to investigating genocide and
when it comes to China. Even though the amendment, which is in the other House
but will return here, is not perfect because it asks judges to get involved,
the Foreign Secretary has an opportunity to sit with colleagues and come up
with a better amendment that focuses on judges, not on trade, on investigating
genocide and on bringing that decision back to the House. There is no excuse,
Mr Speaker, to allow these atrocities to continue.
Dominic Raab
Secretary of State for Foreign and Development, Dominic
Raab replied, “In relation to the genocide definition, it is not just evidence
that persecution is taking place to destroy a group, but evidence that it is
taking place with the intention to destroy a group as such. It has very rarely
been found in international forums, because that definition is so high. She is
right to acknowledge that the amendment is, in her words, “ not perfect”. In
some respects, it could be counterproductive.
He also said, “The No. 1 thing to advance this debate in a
sensible and targeted way and in a way that would attract international support
would be to secure the UN human rights commissioner, or another authoritative
third body, to be able to go in and review and verify authoritatively what is
going on in Xinjiang. I raised that with the United Nations Secretary-General
yesterday.
Chris Bryant
Member for Rhondda, Chris Bryant said, “We need only listen
to the Secretary of State’s own comments and read them against the genocide
convention to see that there is a clear example of genocide being practised in
Xinjiang now. Killing people, causing bodily or mental harm, preventing births,
forcibly transferring children—these are all the markers of genocide. Of course
we need to come to a view both in this House and in the courts, but the
difficulty about doing so through the courts is that China has a veto. How are
we going to make sure that we name this as it properly is and that the people
who are accountable for it actually come to justice?
Dominic Raab
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab replied, “I understand his
point about how we actually hold people individually to account for these
crimes. Whether it is genocide or gross human rights violations, the label is
less important than the accountability for what are, no doubt, egregious
crimes, but he has not suggested anything to me that would precipitate that. We
are taking the targeted measures that will cut the funding, inadvertently or
otherwise, going into the internment camps, and prevent those in the internment
camps who are running them from profiting from it.”
He also mentioned, “If we want any wider initiative, we
will need a far wider range of international support and we will need to get
authoritative third parties to have some kind of access. That is why I referred
to the work of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, as difficult and
challenging as it is, and why I raised it with António Guterres yesterday.”
.
Imran Hussain
Labour Member for Bradford East, Imran Hussain said, “The
persecution, genocide and horrific human rights abuses faced by Uyghur Muslims
at the hands of the Chinese Government is an issue that I and many others
across the House have been raising for a considerable period, so of course it
is welcome that the Government are finally taking some action. However, this
action still does not go far enough, as pointed out by a number of hon.
Members. Even those Uyghur who have managed to flee China as refugees are still
being forcibly returned. So will the UK go further, and call for a full
independent UN investigation and push regional countries to grant protection to
Uyghur refugees?”
Dominic Raab
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab replied, “That is why I
believe, and I hope the hon. Gentleman will support this, that one of the
things we ought to be doing is gathering as wide as possible a group of
like-minded countries to press for the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner
to be able to have access. That would have the dual benefit, first, of
substantiating the widespread reports of the violations of human rights I have
described and, secondly, give China its opportunity to rebut and to reject
those claims based on the evidence that it and only it has and can control.”
Shabana Mahmood
Labour Member for Birmingham Ladywood, Shabana Mahmood
said, “The measures announced today are welcome, but they do not sufficiently
address the genocide against the Uyghur people and other ethnic and religious
minorities in Xinjiang. I noted with deep dismay his remarks about the
amendment to the Trade Bill regarding China, which many other Members will wish
to support. Will the Foreign Secretary at least acknowledge that efforts to
allow UK judges to provide expert input and make preliminary determinations on
genocide is, in the absence of any other viable legal option, the only legal
route to hold the Chinese Government to account and the only viable opportunity
in a legal forum to call their actions by their proper name: “genocide”?
Dominic Raab
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab replied “I do not think
that the proposal that the hon. Lady has referred to would advance the cause of
accountability in any meaningful sense at all.”
Sarah Owen
Labour Member for Luton North, Sarah Owen, said, “What is
happening in Xinjiang is the tragic reality of state-sanctioned Islamophobia.
Leaders within the Muslim community in Luton North have expressed to me their
horror at seeing this Government stand idly by while these human rights abuses
are carried out, including reports of the forced sterilisation of Uyghur women,
which is expressly forbidden under article II(d) of the UN convention on
genocide.”
She also asked, “I have asked before and I ask again: will
the UK Government now use, not just talk about, sanctions to address these
gross human rights abuses imposed on the Uyghur people?
Dominic Raab
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab replied, “The hon. Lady may
have missed what I said: through the transparency requirements, the fines, the
export controls and the four measures I announced today, we are increasing the
strength of the targeted measures we are taking. Of course, as other Members
have asked, we hold the Magnitsky sanctions in reserve.”
Christian Wakeford
Conservative Member for Bury South, Christian Wakeford,
said, “The appalling and abhorrent persecution of the Uyghur in Xinjiang has
rightly received sustained condemnation not only from all parts of this House
but from around the world. Let us not mince words and let us call it what it
is: genocide.
“As we head towards Holocaust Memorial Day, for which this
year’s theme is to be the light in the darkness, let us, the UK, be that light
in the darkness and take a firm stance against these crimes. With that in mind,
will my right hon. Friend outline what practical steps he is taking to
co-ordinate international responses, providing hard-hitting sanctions against
the Chinese Government and all those guilty of these heinous crimes?”
Dominic Raab
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab replied, “I think that we
have shown precisely the international leadership that he has cited. The
reality is that we gained, I think, 35-plus countries in support of our
statement in the United Nations General Assembly Third Committee, but a lot of
countries around the world either do not wish to take the measures that he
described or are understandably nervous, given their proximity to China or
their economic size, about the reprisals that China would take. We need to
proceed carefully and sensitively with our international partners—on that
point, he is absolutely right.
Afzal Khan
Labour Member for
Manchester Gorton, Afzal Khan, said, “Although I welcome the Foreign
Secretary’s announcement on forced Uyghur labour, like a number of hon. Members
I feel that it failed to address suspected genocide against Uyghur Muslims. A
recent tweet by the Chinese Communist party branded the forced sterilisation of
Uyghur women as emancipation. The UN convention on genocide clearly forbids
such measures, so what steps is the Foreign Secretary taking to support the
appointment of a UN special rapporteur to investigate forced labour and ethnic
persecution in Xinjiang?
Dominic Raab
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab replied, “The challenge is
that we know that China would block efforts to appoint a special rapporteur or
envoy. He would agree that we do not want to give that, if you like, PR coup or
failed initiative to our detractors.
He also said, “The one thing we can and should do, as I
have said several times to the House, is focus on getting the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights some kind of access to Xinjiang. That will keep
it on the agenda—I do not think that anyone can accuse the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights of being anything other than objective and impartial. That is
something that other countries ought to be able to rally to, and that is where
we have focused our efforts.
John Nicolson
SNP Member for Ochil and South Perthshire, John Nicolson,
said, “The poet Perhat Tursun, one of the foremost living writers in the Uyghur
language, is one of around 1 million who have been disappeared by the Chinese
state into the so-called re-education camps. Turson has been missing since his
detention in January 2018. In one of his poems, he writes presciently:
“When they search the streets and cannot find my vanished
figure
Do you know that I am with you”.
The Foreign Secretary must go further than today’s
announcements. Uyghurs are not being persecuted for what they pick, but for who
they are. As with the Tibetans, does he support their right to the
self-determination that they seek?
Dominic Raab
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab replied, “We certainly want
to see the human rights, freedoms and basic liberties of the people of Tibet,
Hong Kong and Xinjiang respected. We are taking a series of measures, and are
in the vanguard internationally with the measures that we have taken. It is
important to try to keep clusters of like-minded partners with us to have the
maximum effect precisely to provide redress and accountability for the
violations of human rights that the hon. Gentleman and I rightly deplore.”
Florence Eshalomi
Labour Member for (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op) Florence Eshalomi,
said, “Vauxhall residents have contacted me, appalled at the widespread forced
labour of the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province. We must do everything in our
power to stop the Chinese Government abusing their own people and to ensure
that those responsible are held to account. I welcome the measures outlined by
the Foreign Secretary on what additional help we can do to get our own house in
order when it comes to doing business with Xinjiang, but the world must be
united in its message to China. Can the Secretary of State confirm what further
actions we are taking with our allies across the world to take a shared robust
response to these appalling abuses?
Dominic Raab
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab replied, “We have laid out
a suite of measures. I have explained what we are doing in the Human Rights
Council, the United Nations General Assembly Third Committee. We keep working
with our international partners, but, as the hon. Lady will have noted, while
we are leading the way a lot of countries are nervous of speaking out, partly
because of China’s economic clout. We have certainly been having conversations
with many countries, including countries with larger Muslim populations than
our own, about why they are not more outspoken on this issue.
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab replied, “One of the things
that I think would help, given China’s blanket denial, is to get the UN Human
Rights Commissioner into Xinjiang, so there can be no doubt, no quibbling and
no question that these violations are taking place. Having an authoritative and
independent party like the UN Human Rights Commissioner conduct that kind of
review would help to raise the kind of coalition of the like-minded that the
hon. Lady talks about.”
Rehman Chishti
Conservative Member for Gillingham and Rainham, Rehman
Chishti, said, “I very much welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement on
dealing with the horrific ituation in Xinjiang. With regards to the United
Kingdom’s leadership on the matter and the further actions it can take, the UK
will be hosting the G7 later this year and will have the presidency of the
Security Council next month, in February. Will this issue and the wider topic
of freedom of religion or belief be put on the agenda of both conferences and
events to show the United Kingdom’s strong leadership and to take firm,
decisive action?”
Dominic Raab
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab
replied, “I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s work as special envoy for
freedom of religion or belief. I can assure him, without divulging too much of
the agenda in advance, that human rights will be at the forefront of our
leadership this year—our presidency of the UN Security Council, our G7
presidency and more generally—because we believe that the UK has a crucial role
to play in promoting open societies, including on human rights, but also in
defending public goods in areas such as climate change and covid response.
Kim
Johnson
Labour
Member for Liverpool Riverside, Kim Johnson, said, Like others, I have been
horrified by the reports of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, including mass
detentions, forced sterilisations, efforts to restrict cultural and religious
practices, and mass surveillance, disproportionately targeting the Uyghur
population. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to support the
appointment of a UN special rapporteur for the investigation of forced labour
and ethnic persecution in Xinjiang?
Dominic Raab
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab replied, “We would
certainly welcome such a special envoy, but, as I said in answer to a previous
question, the reality is that China will block that if we formally propose it.
That is why, as I have said repeatedly, what really matters is that an
authoritative, independent, non-partisan individual or body can have access to
Xinjiang. The UN human rights commissioner would seem to me to be one such
individual who could perform that role—there are others—which is why we have
raised it with our international partners and I have raised it with the UN
Secretary-General.
