After several months of investigation, a group of lawyers and human rights experts gathered in London concluded, Thursday, December 9, that the way in which China treats the Uighurs is genocide, angering Beijing, which denounces “A political farce” based on “False testimonies”.
The nine members of the “Uighur Tribunal”, so appointed despite the absence of any judicial authority and denounced by Beijing as not having “No legitimacy”, listened to numerous testimonies and examined the evidence provided by independent researchers and associations on the treatment inflicted on them by the Chinese state.
In a 63-page report, experts concluded that there was no evidence of a massacre of the Uighur Muslim minority, but that “The elements of an intentional genocide” as defined by the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide were nevertheless “Established”.
“Imprisonments, acts of torture, rape”
“The People’s Republic of China has committed genocide by imposing birth prevention measures designed to destroy a significant portion of the Uighurs in Xinjiang”, said the experts, believing that the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, and other senior executives in “Bear primary responsibility”.
According to them, the removal of the uterus, abortions and the forced insertion of an IUD to Uighur women by the Chinese state “Will result in a number of births significantly lower than it could have been in the years to come” and an “Partial destruction of the Uighurs”.
The nine experts also found China responsible “Beyond a reasonable doubt” of “Crimes against humanity”, citing “Imprisonment, acts of torture, rape, sexual violence, forced sterilizations and other inhumane acts”.
At least 1 million Uighurs incarcerated
According to human rights organizations, at least one million Uighurs and other Turkish-speaking minorities, mainly Muslims, are being held in camps in Xinjiang. In addition to the forced sterilization of women, China is accused of imposing forced labor.
Beijing contests and affirms that these are vocational training centers intended to distance them from terrorism and separatism, after numerous deadly attacks committed against civilians by Uighurs.
“The alleged ‘final verdict’ of this lie-making machine is a political farce”, reacted in a statement the Chinese foreign ministry, accusing “Anti-Chinese forces in the West” having “Paid liars, spread rumors and presented false testimonies” like “Political tool to smear China”.
“The first evidence-based public demonstration”
The United States has already asserted that the treatment of Uighurs is a matter of “Genocide” and announced a diplomatic boycott of the next Winter Olympics, which will be held February 4-20, 2022 in Beijing, along with several other Western countries. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that the United Kingdom would join the boycott, a move that risks further weakening ties between London and Beijing.
There are many sources of tension between the two countries, between respect for human rights in Xinjiang, decline in freedoms in the former British colony of Hong Kong and the exclusion of the Chinese giant Huawei from British 5G infrastructures. But the UK government has so far failed to label China’s treatment of Uighurs as “Genocide”, arguing that it was up to justice to decide this question.
The nine experts meeting in London believe that their report constitutes “The first evidence-based public demonstration” of such a practice. The “Uighur Tribunal” is not affiliated with any government and China has refused to participate. Beijing, on the other hand, took sanctions against the organization and its president, Geoffrey Nice.