April 2021 Monthly Journal of Press
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April 2021 Monthly Journal of Press [ 1 ] April 2021 Monthly Journal of Press UK LAWMAKERS DECLARE CHINA’S TREATMENT OF UYGHURS IS GENOCIDE British lawmakers have unanimously declared Chi- na’s ongoing crackdown in Xinjiang a genocide, joining the United States, Canada and the Neth- erlands in condemning Beijing’s actions against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the far- west region in the strongest possible terms. China has been accused of detaining up to 2 lawmaker Yasmin Qureshi, a member of the million people in a system of camps set up Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China UK, across Xinjiang in recent years, with survi- said. vors alleging widespread abuse, including brainwashing, torture, rape and forced labor. “That this government is pursuing deeper Beijing has denied the worst accusations, de- trade ties with China while these abuses con- fending the system as a vocational training tinue is unthinkable.” and deradicalization program vital to ensur- Introducing the motion Thursday, Conserva- ing the region’s security. tive lawmaker Nusrat Ghani told lawmakers Following a debate on Thursday, the House that “while we must never misuse the term of Commons passed unopposed a non-bind- genocide, we must not fail to use it when it’s ing resolution condemning “mass human warranted.” rights abuses and crimes against humanity in Governments insist that genocide can only Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region.” be determined by competent courts, said “Today’s vote must mark a turning point. Ghani, but “every route to a court is blocked No one can still deny the scale of the abuses by China.” taking place in the Xinjiang region,” Labour [ 1 ] Monthly Journal of Press April 2021 “Our government is handcuffed, paralyzed nation to safeguard its “national sovereignty, by the United Nations. We need to take back security and development interests.” control,” she said. “Our route to tackling genocide cannot be controlled by China.” ‘INTERROGATE THE EVIDENCE’ While the move will likely be seen as hav- Per the United Nations Genocide Convention ing no real impact on UK government pol- -- to which China is a signatory -- genocide is icy, it is sure to damage relations between an attempt to commit acts “with an intent to London and Beijing. Ties are already severe- destroy, in whole or in part, a national, (eth- ly strained by Britain’s decision to impose nic), racial or religious group.” sanctions on Xinjiang, and the resulting tit- There are five ways in which genocide can for-tat Chinese penalties, as well as China’s take place, according to the convention: kill- moves to limit democracy in Hong Kong, a ing members of the group; causing serious former British colony. bodily or mental harm to members of the Beijing has made clear its anger at London group; deliberately inflicting conditions of for introducing a path to citizenship for hold- life calculated to bring about its physical de- ers of British Nationals (Overseas) passports struction in whole or in part; imposing mea- following the imposition of a new national sures intended to prevent births within the security law on Hong Kong, and lawmakers group; or forcibly transferring children of the in the UK have pushed for the British gov- group to another group. ernment to take further action in response to The last time the House of Commons made recent election law changes, including sanc- such a declaration was in 2016, when law- tioning Chinese and Hong Kong officials. makers voted to classify the actions by ISIS In a recent statement, China’s foreign minis- against Yazidis and other minorities in north- try warned the UK “not go further down the ern Syria a genocide. That motion was ap- wrong path” in regard to action over Xinjiang proved unanimously. and Hong Kong, and reiterated its determi- [ 2 ] April 2021 Monthly Journal of Press Ghani -- who has been working to raise con- cerns over the treatment of Uyghurs in China -- was among a number of British lawmakers sanctioned by China last month for having “maliciously spread lies and disinformation” in relation to Xinjiang’s human rights issues. That move came after the UK, in coordina- tion with the European Union, Canada and the US, announced sanctions over Xinjiang, Speaking during Thursday’s debate, former targeting those responsible for the crack- Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith down there. urged the government to rethink its position on China’s actions in Xinjiang. At the time, UK Foreign Secretary Domi- nic Raab said “it speaks volumes that, while “We will not gain any particu- the UK joins the international community lar friendship by not calling out in sanctioning those responsible for human genocide from the Chinese. It is rights abuses, the Chinese government sanc- simply not a tradeable item,” tions its critics.” he said. “The UK government “If Beijing want to credibly rebut claims of has said endlessly -- and I un- human rights abuses in Xinjiang, it should al- derstand this -- that only a low the UN High Commissioner for Human competent court can declare Rights full access to verify the truth,” he said in a statement. genocide, that is absolutely the original plan. On Wednesday, Raab announced he was slashing aid to China by 95%, to £900,000 “But the problem is that getting to a compe- ($1.25 million), as part of a wider program of tent court is impossible. At the United Na- cuts to the UK foreign aid budget. tions it is impossible to get through to the In- The remaining £900,000 will fund programs ternational Court of Justice, it is impossible on open societies and human rights, the min- to get through to the International Criminal ister said in a statement. Court as China is not a signatory to that and therefore will not obey that.” By Laura Smith-Spark and James Griffiths, CNN SANCTIONED BY CHINA [ 3 ] Monthly Journal of Press April 2021 NEW REPORT SLAMS CHINA FOR ‘SYSTEMATIC’ OPPRESSION AGAINST UYGHURS Human Rights Watch has urged the United ing out widespread and systematic policies Nations to take necessary steps to address of mass detention, torture, cultural persecu- what it calls China’s crimes against humanity tion and other offenses. targeting Uyghur Muslims and other Turkic minorities in the Xinjiang region. “Chinese authorities have systematically persecuted Turkic Muslims — their lives, A new report released Monday their religion and their culture,” said Sophie by Human Rights Watch (HRW) Richardson, China director at HRW, in the and the Stanford Law School’s report. “Beijing has said it’s providing ‘vo- Human Rights and Conflict cational training’ and ‘deradicalization,’ but Resolution Clinic says the Chi- that rhetoric can’t obscure a grim reality of nese government has commit- crimes against humanity.” ted crimes against humanity According to the report, the Rome Statute against Uyghur Muslims and of the International Criminal Court defines other Turkic minorities in Xinji- crimes against humanity as serious specified ang. offenses that are “knowingly committed” as part of a widespread or systematic attack The report, entitled “’Break their lineage, against any civilian population. break their roots’: China’s crimes against hu- manity targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic COMMISSION OF INQUIRY Muslims,” compared existing research, me- The alleged crimes highlighted in the report dia reports, government documents and data include imprisonment, deprivation of liberty from China, concluding that Beijing is carry- [ 4 ] April 2021 Monthly Journal of Press in violation of international law, persecution courts in the region allegedly handing down of an identifiable ethnic or religious group, “harsh prison sentences” without due pro- enforced disappearance, torture, murder, in- cess. humane acts intentionally causing great suf- fering or serious injury to mental or physical “According to official statistics, arrests in health, forced labor and sexual violence. Xinjiang accounted for nearly 21% of all arrests in China in 2017, despite people in The report urges the United Nations Human Xinjiang making up only 1.5% of the total Rights Council (UNHRC) to create a com- population,” the report said. mission of inquiry (COI) to investigate the crimes. Additionally, evidence shows that local au- thorities in Xinjiang have used various meth- ods to damage or destroy at least two-thirds of mosques in Xinjiang. Local authorities also implement a vast surveillance network across the region by collecting DNA sam- ples, fingerprints, iris scans and blood types of Xinjiang residents between the age of 12 and 65. HRW’s Richardson told DW the report high- lights how the Chinese government’s pol- icies that have affected Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in the past several years. “The COI should have a mandate to estab- “We reached the conclusion that these vio- lish the facts, identify the perpetrators, and lations fit that definition of widespread and make recommendations to provide account- systematic,” she said. ability,” the report said. “The COI should Experts say that growing evidence against be comprised of eminent persons, including China allows the international community to experts in international human rights law, address the human rights violations in Xin- crimes against humanity, the rights of ethnic jiang. and religious minorities, and gender issues.” “I think it’s particularly important Several Western countries have imposed [for countries] to call on the UN to coordinated sanctions against several Chi- nese officials believed to be responsible for establish a commission of inquiry the human rights violations in Xinjiang. In into not only crimes against hu- a tit-for-tat move, Beijing imposed sanctions manity, but also genocide,” said on several individuals and entities in those Yonah Diamond, legal counsel countries. for the Raoul Wallenberg Center ‘WIDESPREAD AND for Human Rights and one of the authors of a recent independent SYSTEMATIC’ VIOLATIONS report that determined Beijing’s According to HRW, an estimated 1 million actions in Xinjiang have violated people have been detained in 300 to 400 the UN Genocide Convention.