Persecution of Uyghurs in China

"Xinjiang genocide" redirects here. For the 1750s genocide that also occurred in Xinjiang, see Dzungar genocide.

Persecution of Uyghurs in China
Part of the Xinjiang conflict
A photo of many Uyghur men, dressed in identical blue clothing, sitting down in rows. On the right hand side of the photo, there is a barbed wire fence. The men are within a re-education camp.
Detainees listening to speeches in a camp in Lop County, Xinjiang, April 2017
Xinjiang, highlighted red, shown within China
LocationXinjiang, China
Date2014–present
TargetUyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic Muslims
Attack type
Internment, forced abortion, forced sterilization, forced birth control, forced labor, torture, indoctrination, alleged rape (including gang rape)
Victimsest. ≥1 million detained
PerpetratorGovernment of the People's Republic of China
MotiveCounterterrorism (official)
Sinicization, Islamophobia,[1] and suppression of political dissent
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Since 2014, the Chinese government has committed a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang which has often been characterized as persecution or as genocide. There have been reports of mass arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, mass surveillance, cultural and religious persecution, family separation, forced labor, sexual violence, and violations of reproductive rights.

In 2014, the administration of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping launched the Strike Hard Campaign Against Violent Terrorism, which involved surveillance and restrictions in Xinjiang. Beginning in 2017, under Xinjiang CCP Secretary Chen Quanguo,[2] the government incarcerated over an estimated one million Uyghurs without legal process in internment camps officially described as "vocational education and training centers", in the largest mass internment of an ethnic-religious minority group since World War II.[3][4] China began to wind down the camps in 2019, and Amnesty International states that detainees have been increasingly transferred to the penal system.

In addition to mass detention, government policies have included forced labor and factory work,[5][6] suppression of Uyghur religious practices,[7] political indoctrination,[8] forced sterilization,[9] forced contraception,[10][11] and forced abortion.[12][13] An estimated 16,000 mosques have been razed or damaged,[2] and hundreds of thousands of children have been forcibly separated from their parents and sent to boarding schools.[14][15] Chinese government statistics reported that from 2015 to 2018, birth rates in the mostly Uyghur regions of Hotan and Kashgar fell by more than 60%.[9] In the same period, the birth rate of the whole country decreased by 9.69%.[16] Chinese authorities according to CNN acknowledged that birth rates dropped by almost a third in 2018 in Xinjiang, but denied reports of forced sterilization.[17] Birth rates in Xinjiang fell a further 24% in 2019, compared to a nationwide decrease of 4.2%.[9]

The Chinese government denies having committed human rights abuses in Xinjiang.[3][18] International reactions have varied, with its actions being described as the forced assimilation of Xinjiang, as ethnocide or cultural genocide,[19][20] or as genocide. Those accusing China of genocide point to intentional acts they say violate Article II of the Genocide Convention,[21][22][23] which prohibits "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part," a "racial or religious group" including "causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group" and "measures intended to prevent births within the group".[24]

In a 2022 assessment by the UN Human Rights Office, the United Nations (UN) stated that China's policies and actions in the Xinjiang region may be crimes against humanity, though did not use the term genocide.[25][26] In 2020, 39 UN member states issued statements to the United Nations Human Rights Council criticizing China's policies, while 45 countries supported China's "deradicalization measures in Xinjiang" and opposed "the politicization of human rights issues and double standards".[27]

In December 2020, a case brought to the International Criminal Court was dismissed because the crimes alleged appeared to have been "committed solely by nationals of China within the territory of China, a State which is not a party to the Statute", meaning the ICC could not investigate them.[28][29][30][31] In January 2021, the United States Department of State declared China's actions as genocide,[30][31] and legislatures in several countries have passed non-binding motions doing the same, including the House of Commons of Canada,[32] the Dutch parliament,[33] the House of Commons of the United Kingdom,[34] the Seimas of Lithuania,[35] and the French National Assembly.[36] Other parliaments, such as those in New Zealand,[37] Belgium,[38] and the Czech Republic condemned the Chinese government's treatment of Uyghurs as "severe human rights abuses" or crimes against humanity.[39]

  1. ^ Abbas, Rushan (2021). "The Rise of Global Islamophobia and the Uyghur Genocide". Brown Journal of World Affairs. 28 (1). Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Khatchadourian-5-4-2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Finley, Joanne (2020). "Why Scholars and Activists Increasingly Fear a Uyghur Genocide in Xinjiang". Journal of Genocide Research. 23 (3). Newcastle University: 348–370. doi:10.1080/14623528.2020.1848109. ISSN 1462-3528. S2CID 236962241.
  4. ^ Kirby, Jen (25 September 2020). "Concentration camps and forced labor: China's repression of the Uighurs, explained". Vox. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021. It is the largest mass internment of an ethnic-religious minority group since World War II.
  5. ^ Turdush, Rukiye; Fiskesjö, Magnus (28 May 2021). "Dossier: Uyghur Women in China's Genocide". Genocide Studies and Prevention. 15 (1): 22–43. doi:10.5038/1911-9933.15.1.1834.
  6. ^ Sudworth, John (December 2020). "China's 'tainted' cotton". BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  7. ^ Congressional Research Service (18 June 2019). "Uyghurs in China" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Muslim minority in China's Xinjiang face 'political indoctrination': Human Rights Watch". Reuters. 9 September 2018. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  9. ^ a b c "China cuts Uighur births with IUDs, abortion, sterilization". Associated Press. 28 June 2020. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  10. ^ "China Forces Birth Control on Uighurs to Suppress Population". Voice of America. Associated Press. 29 June 2020. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  11. ^ Samuel, Sigal (10 March 2021). "China's genocide against the Uyghurs, in 4 disturbing charts". Vox. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  12. ^ "China: Uighur women reportedly sterilized in attempt to suppress population". Deutsche Welle. 1 July 2020. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  13. ^ "China 'using birth control' to suppress Uighurs". BBC News. 29 June 2020. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  14. ^ Feng, Emily (9 July 2018). "Uighur children fall victim to China anti-terror drive". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  15. ^ Adrian Zenz (July 2019). "Break Their Roots: Evidence for China's Parent-Child Separation Campaign in Xinjiang". The Journal of Political Risk. 7 (7). Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Birth rate, crude (per 1,000 people) - China". The World Bank. Archived from the original on 3 April 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  17. ^ Ivan Watson, Rebecca Wright and Ben Westcott (21 September 2020). "Xinjiang government confirms huge birth rate drop but denies forced sterilization of women". CNN International. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  18. ^ Griffiths, James (17 April 2021). "From cover-up to propaganda blitz: China's attempts to control the narrative on Xinjiang". CNN. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024.
  19. ^ "'Cultural genocide': China separating thousands of Muslim children from parents for 'thought education'". The Independent. 5 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  20. ^ Finnegan, Ciara (2020). "The Uyghur Minority in China: A Case Study of Cultural Genocide, Minority Rights and the Insufficiency of the International Legal Framework in Preventing State-Imposed Extinction". Laws. 9: 1. doi:10.3390/laws9010001.
  21. ^ "Uighurs: 'Credible case' China carrying out genocide". BBC News. 8 February 2021. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  22. ^ Alecci, Scilla (14 October 2020). "British lawmakers call for sanctions over Uighur human rights abuses". International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  23. ^ Piotrowicz, Ryszard (14 July 2020). "Legal expert: forced birth control of Uighur women is genocide – can China be put on trial?". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 17 December 2023.
  24. ^ "Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide". UNGA. 9 December 1948. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024 – via Human Rights Web.
  25. ^ Ramzy, Austin (1 September 2022). "For Uyghurs, U.N. Report on China's Abuses Is Long-Awaited Vindication". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  26. ^ "China: New UN Report Alleges Crimes Against Humanity". Human Rights Watch. 31 August 2022. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  27. ^ Basu, Zachary (8 October 2020). "Mapped: More countries sign UN statement condemning China's mass detentions in Xinjiang". Axios. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  28. ^ Griffiths, James. "China avoids ICC prosecution over Xinjiang for now, but pressure is growing". CNN. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  29. ^ "Report on Preliminary Examination Activities 2020" (PDF). The Office of the Prosecutor. International Criminal Court. 14 December 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  30. ^ a b Gordon, Michael R. (19 January 2021). "U.S. Says China Is Committing 'Genocide' Against Uighur Muslims". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  31. ^ a b Lynch, Colum (19 February 2021). "State Department Lawyers Concluded Insufficient Evidence to Prove Genocide in China". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  32. ^ Jones, Ryan Patrick (22 February 2021). "MPs vote to label China's persecution of Uighurs a genocide". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021. A substantial majority of MPs — including most Liberals who participated — voted in favour of a Conservative motion that says China's actions in its western Xinjiang region meet the definition of genocide set out in the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention. ... The final tally was 266 in favour and zero opposed. Two MPs formally abstained.
  33. ^ "Dutch parliament: China's treatment of Uighurs is genocide". Reuters. 25 February 2021. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  34. ^ Hefffer, Greg (22 April 2021). "House of Commons declares Uighurs are being subjected to genocide in China". Sky News. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  35. ^ Basu, Zachary (20 May 2021). "Lithuanian parliament becomes latest to recognize Uyghur genocide". Axios. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  36. ^ "French Parliament Denounces China's Uyghur 'Genocide'". AFP News. 20 January 2022. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  37. ^ Manch, Thomas (5 May 2021). "Parliament unanimously declares 'severe human rights abuses' occurring against Uyghur in China". Stuff. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  38. ^ "Belgian MPs warn of 'risk of genocide' of China's Uyghurs". Alarabiya. AFP. 15 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  39. ^ Gerlin, Roseanne (15 June 2021). "Belgium, Czech Republic Legislatures Pass Uyghur Genocide Declarations". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2021.