WUC marks four years of Uyghur Genocide Recognition Day, renews global call for action against China

Munich [Germany], December 9 (ANI): The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) on 9 and 10 December marked four years since the establishment of Uyghur Genocide Recognition Day and the final judgment of the Uyghur Tribunal, remembering the victims of what it described as the ongoing Uyghur genocide, according to a WUC press release.

The WUC stated that the Uyghur Tribunal was launched in June 2020 at the request of its former President Dolkun Isa, to document alleged atrocity crimes committed by China against Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Turkic Muslim peoples of East Turkistan. The independent tribunal, chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice, comprised legal experts, academics and civil society representatives, and investigated allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Quoting WUC President Turgunjan Alawdun, the release said that "9 December reminds us that genocide is not an abstract historical concept, it is a daily reality Uyghur people continue to endure." He added that the Tribunal had presented overwhelming evidence that the world can no longer ignore, and warned that allowing genocide to continue against one community threatens global security and the international order.

According to the WUC, the Tribunal issued its final judgment on December 9, 2021, after hearings conducted in June, September and November 2021. The judgment was based on more than 500 witness submissions, testimony from over 30 direct witnesses, including a former Chinese police officer, and input from 40 expert witnesses. The Tribunal concluded that the People's Republic of China (PRC) is committing genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghur people, the release said.

The WUC further noted that at least ten national parliaments have since formally recognized what it described as these atrocities. However, the organisation stressed that symbolic recognition alone is insufficient, particularly as China continues to expand its influence within international human rights institutions and has become the largest budget contributor to the United Nations, as cited in the release.

Four years after the Tribunal's judgment, the WUC alleged that China continues to whitewash the genocide. Despite claims that so-called "re-education" camps have been closed, the organisation asserted that mass detention continues through other mechanisms, including long-term imprisonment, detention centres and forced labour schemes, along with labour transfers across China. According to the WUC, many detainees remain under strict, lifelong surveillance even after release.

The release further alleged that Uyghur people continue to face torture, sexual violence, rape, starvation, forced labour, coercive birth-prevention policies and family separation, alongside pervasive mass surveillance. The WUC also claimed that religious and cultural sites across East Turkistan have been systematically destroyed, and said that despite years of documentation by academics, NGOs and allies, the situation on the ground remains unchanged.

Referring to 10 December, International Human Rights Day, the WUC said the day underscores the global responsibility to uphold human dignity, protect fundamental freedoms and preserve peace based on respect for human rights.

On the occasion, the WUC urged governments and policymakers to prioritise the Uyghur issue in all diplomatic engagements with China and demanded a series of actions, including the immediate closure of all detention facilities and the release of all detainees, an end to forced marriages and mass birth-prevention policies, a halt to forced labour practices and imports linked to Uyghur exploitation, the end of cultural assimilation policies such as the destruction of mosques and boarding schools, stronger accountability mechanisms to counter transnational repression, and protection for Uyghur refugees and asylum seekers worldwide, as stated in the WUC release. (ANI)

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