Our chairman Mr. Sital was present at the International Uyghur Forum (IUF). The convention was organized by the Japan-Uyghur Parliamentary Caucus (JUPC), the Japanese parliamentary caucus to investigate and take action on human rights abuses committed by China (JPCHC) and the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) in cooperation with the Japan Uygur Association (JUA) and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC). There were 80 speakers, 70 parliamentarians, and over 200 participants from 25 countries. Every single person in attendance has placed a high value on the accountability measures designed to address the ongoing genocide against the Uyghur people, as well as the erosion of Hong Kong’s democratic systems, military tensions near Taiwan, and China’s threat to regional peace and security in the Asia-Pacific area.

Which Human Rights violations take place against Uyghurs?

• Practicing their religion.
• Speaking their own language.
• Choosing what to wear and what to eat.
• Constant surveillance with their every move being scrutinized.
• Approximately 1 million Uyghurs held in detention centers known for indoctrination, torture, and rape.
• Forced sterilization.
• Desecration of mosques.
• Forced marriage of Uyghur women to Han Chinese.
• Sending Han “relatives” into Uyghurs’ homes to observe and intervene in their private lives.

Statements from Mr. Sital:

• “History has taught us the devastating consequences of turning a blind eye to atrocities. We all remember the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, the war crimes committed during the former Yugoslav wars, and the Srebrenica massacre. Without the rule of law and effective mechanisms to enforce it, humanity risks crumbling in the face of endless horrors.”
• “The Chinese government’s persecution of Uyghurs is an unbelievable, brutal, and systematic violation of human rights. Uyghurs are deprived of their fundamental rights, ranging from practicing their religion to speaking their own language, from protecting their cultural identity to choosing what to wear and what to eat. Uyghurs are therefore living under constant surveillance with their every move being scrutinised. The Chinese government is holding approximately one million Uyghurs in “vocational education and training centers”, where a vast system of arbitrary detention has been set up. These centers are nothing but modern-day concentration camps where individuals are subjected to ill-treatment, indoctrination, torture, and even sexual violence.”
• “The Chinese government has committed and is still committing crimes against humanity in accordance with international law… This is an affront to our common values, principles, and conscience. The actions of the Chinese government against the Uyghurs are an attack on the idea of human rights and dignity itself.”

Which recommendations does the International Uyghur Forum highlight? 

• Communities and Nations such as Uyghurs, Tibetans, Southern Mongolians, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, which are under the rule and threat of the People’s Republic of China should cooperate with each other and strengthen relations. The participants express solidarity with all, who seek common ground to face common challenges.
• Governments need to put in place protective measures for their citizens to protect them from China’s transnational repression. Transnational repression violates state sovereignty and targets Universities and democratic institutions.
• The Uyghur genocide should be an important factor when Japan engages in economic trade with China.
• Japan should provide an education that prioritizes human rights to Japanese youth and children.
• The stories of individual victim-survivors need to be highlighted.
• Within the European Union, member states should be more united on a shared approach to the EU-China High-level dialogue on human rights.
• Chinese government officials, especially from the central government, need to be sanctioned for their involvement in the Uyghur genocide and held accountable.
• Governments need to work together with UNICEF and UNESCO and engage with these institutions regarding their failure to protect Uyghur culture and heritage.
• More research and documentation are needed on China’s promotion of propaganda tourism to foreign delegations.
• Companies need to prove that they are not engaging in forced labor (Reversal of the burden of proof).

Statements from Mr. Sital:

• “Alarmingly, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the UNHRC, China is obliged to respect the fundamental principles of all ratified conventions. We must reiterate that economic interests between countries should never serve as a justification to ignore human rights violations”
• “We must stand up for the Uyghurs, for their rights, their dignity, and their future. We must therefore reaffirm our commitment to human rights and the international order that seeks to protect them.”