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China's Laboratory of Rights Abuses The Uyghur Crisis: China’s Laboratory of Rights Abuses CONFERENCE REPORT The Uyghur Crisis: China’s Laboratory for Rights Abuses World Uyghur Congress | December 2020 The Uyghur Crisis: China’s Laboratory of Rights Abuses WUC Headquarters P.O. Box 310312 80103 Munich, Germany Tel: +49 89 5432 1999 Fax: +49 89 5434 9789 Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.uyghurcongress.org Copyright © 2020 World Uyghur Congress All rights reserved. The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is an international organization that represents the collective interests of the Uyghur people in both East Turkestan and abroad. The principle objective of the WUC is to promote democracy, human rights and freedom for the Uyghur people and to use peaceful, nonviolent and democratic means to determine their future. Acting as the sole legitimate organization of the Uyghur people, the WUC endeavors to set out a course for the peaceful settlement of the East Turkestan Question through dialogue and negotiation. The WUC supports a nonviolent and peaceful opposition movement against Chinese occupation of East Turkestan and unconditional adherence to internationally recognized human rights standards as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It adheres to the principles of democratic pluralism and rejects totalitarianism, religious intolerance and terrorism as an instrument of policy. For more information, please visit our website: www.uyghurcongress.org The Uyghur Crisis: China’s Laboratory of Rights Abuses CONFERENCE REPORT The Uyghur Crisis: China’s Laboratory for Rights Abuses December 2019 The Uyghur Crisis: China’s Laboratory of Rights Abuses implications for global security and human SUMMARY rights as this technology is now being exported around the world. On December 10th, International Human Rights Day, the World Uyghur Congress While Uyghur society has been subjected to (WUC), in cooperation with the this repressive and invasive technology, Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Uyghur bodies and organs have also been Organisation (UNPO), held a successful repeatedly tested and harvested. Predating the media training workshop for Uyghur activists internment camp system, the Chinese and a day-long conference entitled ‘The government had already started to forcibly Uyghur Crisis: China’s Laboratory for Rights collect blood and other biometric data from Abuses’ in Brussels, Belgium. Uyghurs. This only accelerated with the implementation of the internment camp It was the aim of this event to bring together system. Nearly every camp survivor has various experts with human rights groups, testified they were forcibly subjected to researchers, policy-makers, and Uyghur medical examinations and forced to take pills leaders to discuss the issue of the region of and other unknown medication while in East Turkistan (and the Uyghur people) used detention which resulted in a range of as a laboratory for Chinese policy and negative side effects. technological development. A growing body of evidence has also pointed The current crisis in East Turkistan has seen the fact that Uyghur prisoners and camp an estimated 1.5-3 million innocent Uyghurs, detainees were having their organs harvested Kazakhs and other ethnic Turkic peoples and sold by Chinese officials. The complete arbitrarily detained in internment camps, absence of oversight or accountability in the which constitutes a crime against humanity. camps laid the perfect conditions for organ The Chinese government has targeted Uyghur harvesting to flourish. This abhorrent practice culture, language, religion, history and ethnic has persisted throughout China for many identity in a campaign of mass social years, often targeting perceived enemies of reeningeering and cultural genocide. Uyghurs the Chinese governments and vulnerable are unable to enjoy their most basic rights and segments of society. Despite the severity and freedoms and the region has been described extend of this practice, very little attention has by the UN Committee for the Elimination of been paid to the issue by the international Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) as a ‘no media or policy makers. rights zone’. By hosting this conference in the heart of the In the context of these ongoing atrocities and European Union, the WUC and its partners in the complete absence of transparency, have sought to shine a light on these accountability or justice, the Chinese dehumanizing policies and practices and to government have used the Uyghur people as mobilize greater awareness and a willingness guinea pigs for a series of repressive and to take concrete action in the EU. dehumanizing policies. The Chinese government and affiliated Chinese companies This conference was organized into thematic have used the ongoing crisis to test and four panels focused on detailing the situation pioneer a dystopian system of security and on the ground, providing concrete evidence surveillance technology on the Uyghur for organ harvesting and focusing on people to monitor and control the Uyghur providing concrete recommendations for population. This is already having major further action. 1 The Uyghur Crisis: China’s Laboratory of Rights Abuses membership-based organization established The conference began with an introductory to empower the voices of unrepresented and session held in the European Parliament and marginalized peoples worldwide and to hosted by Member of the European protect their fundamental human rights. The Parliament Raphael Glucksmann from the peoples represented within the UNPO S&D political group, with the remaining three membership are all united by one shared panels being held at the Université Libre de condition: they are denied equal Bruxelles (ULB). representation in the institutions of national or international governance. As a The remaining three panels of the conference consequence, their opportunity to participate were held at the ULB campus in Brussels and on the national or international stage is were focused on the use of organ harvesting limited, and they struggle to fully realize their and repressive security and surveillance rights to civil and political participation and technologies, as well as their implications for to control their economic, social and cultural the EU and other states. Panelists were development. In many cases, they are subject encouraged to give concrete, action- to the worst forms of violence and repression. orientated recommendations on what was The WUC was a founding member of UNPO needed to effectively address and counter and works closely with the organization, these serious human rights violations. especially with regards to its activities in Brussels. ABOUT THE Raphael Glucksmann MEP ORGANIZERS Mr. Raphael Glucksmann is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) representing World Uyghur Congress France. He is a member of the Socialist and Democrats (S&D) political grouping in the The World Uyghur Congress is an European Parliament and is the Vice international organisation that represents the President of the European Parliament’s collective interest of the Uyghur people both Subcommittee on Human Rights. Mr. in East Turkestan and abroad. The WUC was Glucksmann assisted with facilitating the established in April 2004 in Munich, opening session of this conference in the Germany, after the East Turkestan National European Parliament, hosting the event and Congress and the World Uyghur Youth delivering a keynote speech. Mr. Glucksmann Congress merged into tsone united and his team have been outspoken on the organisation. The main objective of WUC is Uyghur human rights crisis and human rights to promote the right of the Uyghur people to issues around the world more generally, use peaceful, nonviolent, and democratic raising attention and pushing for concrete means to determine the political future of East action. We thank Mr. Glucksmann and his Turkestan. The WUC has been supported in team for their role in making this conference part by the National Endowment for a reality. Democracy. Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is an international 2 The Uyghur Crisis: China’s Laboratory of Rights Abuses Panel 1: Opening Session Moderated by: • Ryan Barry, WUC Policy Coordinator at the European Parliament Speakers included: • Raphael Glucksmann MEP The conference began with an opening • Dolkun Isa, President of the WUC session held in the European Parliament and • Lucia Parrucci, Advocacy Officer for hosted by Member of the European UNPO Parliament Raphael Glucksmann from the • Enver Tohti, Former Surgeon and S&D political group. Activist Against Organ Harvesting • Olsi Jazexhi, Journalist This first panel sought to introduce and raise • Sophie Richardson, Head of the China further awareness of the current crisis in East Desk for Human Rights Watch Turkistan in the European Parliament and • Andrea Ngombet, Human Rights among European decision-makers. This Activist and Head of Sassoufit session took a broad approach to the topic and Collective included a range of voices looking at different angles of the crisis. MEPs, human rights activists, medical experts, politicians and Raphael Glucksmann MEP representatives of the Uyghur diaspora attended the session to discuss the issue of the Member of the European Parliament Raphael region of East Turkistan (and the Uyghur Glucksmann, who hosted the opening session people) used as a laboratory for Chinese of the conference at the European Parliament, policy and technological development. 3 The Uyghur
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