UK Parliament hosts forum on genocide and human rights violations in East Turkistan

The UK Parliament’s House of Lords on Wednesday hosted a significant event focusing on the ongoing genocide and human rights violations against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan, which China refers to as the “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.”

The event was organised by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and presided over by Baroness Helena Kennedy KC.

According to the East Turkistan Government in Exile, the event aimed to raise global awareness about the systematic atrocities faced by these communities under Chinese rule, including mass detentions, forced sterilisations, torture, forced labor, and cultural destruction. Despite these violations being widely recognized as genocide, speakers highlighted the international community’s lack of substantial action to hold China accountable.

Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC underscored that the atrocities meet the legal definition of genocide. She said, “As a human rights lawyer, I have been engaged for a significant number of years and have heard the harrowing stories of women placed in concentration camps, where they are forced to abandon their faith and are subjected to torture and sexual violence. This evidence is supported by satellite images, which reveal the alarming scale of these camps.”

Rodney Dixon KC, legal counsel for East Turkistan’s complaint to the International Crime Court (ICC), called for the UK and other states to take immediate legal action. He remarked, “There are legal avenues available that require support from the UK government. As seen in Argentina, universal jurisdiction is a powerful tool for holding perpetrators accountable. Additionally, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is relevant, especially considering the precedent set in the Myanmar case, which allows the ICC to assert jurisdiction over cross-border crimes.”

Sayra Sauytbay, Vice President of the East Turkistan Government in Exile and a whistleblower and witness of China’s concentration camps, provided harrowing details about the atrocities she witnessed in the camps. She particularly highlighted the forced separation of children from their families.

She said, “China is forcibly separating nearly one million Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic children from their families and placing them in state-run boarding schools. These so-called boarding schools aim to erase their cultural identity and transform them into loyal Chinese citizens.” She also called on the international community, including the UK, to fulfill its promise of “Never Again.”

Salih Hudayar, Foreign Minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile, stressed that the root cause of the genocide lies in China’s illegal occupation of East Turkistan. He called for the restoration of East Turkistan’s independence, asserting that true peace and justice for the region’s people can only be achieved through self-determination.

Lara Strangways, Head of Business and Human Rights at GRC Human Rights, brought attention to the economic aspect of the issue, noting that private companies might be complicit in exploiting Uyghur forced labour within their supply chains.

During the event, Members of Parliament, including Iain Duncan Smith, criticised the UK’s inadequate response to the ongoing atrocities. They specifically condemned the failure to prevent goods produced through forced labor in China from entering the UK market. They urged the UK to take stronger action to protect the rights of the Uyghur people and hold China accountable.