Dozens of countries are calling on China to release Uyghurs

Fifty mainly Western countries have urged China to act as soon as possible on the UN report on gross human rights abuses against the Uyghurs. This report was published at the end of August.

According to the countries, including the Netherlands, China must in any case release all Uyghurs who have been “arbitrarily deprived of their freedom”. The countries are also calling on China to clarify “the fate and whereabouts of the missing”. China must also ensure “safe meetings and reunions,” the countries say.

Human rights organizations and journalists have been reporting systematic human rights violations in the northern Chinese region of Xinjiang for years. An estimated one million Muslims are being held in detention camps there. Many people report being tortured, sexually abused and forced to abandon their own language and religion.

This was confirmed by the UN report by former human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, which had been worked on for three years. She spoke to Uyghurs who had previously been imprisoned.

China correspondent Sjoerd den Daas traveled through Xinjiang two years ago and reported on the Uyghurs:

The fifty countries call the report “independent and authoritative,” noting that China provided information for it. “The report makes an important contribution to the existing evidence of serious and systematic human rights abuses in China,” the countries said.

Incidentally, the report does not refer to human rights violations as genocide. Several parliaments are doing this because of forced abortions and sterilizations.

Internal matter

It is unlikely that China will do anything with the fifty countries’ call. Last week several countries organized a meeting because of the UN investigation. It was previously labeled an “anti-Chinese event” and a “politically motivated rally” by China.

The Chinese regard the situation in Xinjiang as an “internal matter”. Beijing is said to have tried to prevent the report from being released.

Source: NOS