8 March 2022
Madam High Commissioner,
We, the undersigned human rights organisations, write to follow up on your commitment last year to release a report on grave ongoing human rights violations by Chinese authorities targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic communities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (the Uyghur region). The release of the report without further delay is essential – to send a message to victims and perpetrators alike that no state, no matter how powerful, is above international law or the robust independent scrutiny of your Office.
As you are aware, many of our organisations have documented how Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the Uyghur region face systematic state-organized mass detention, torture, persecution, and other violations of a scale and nature amounting to crimes against humanity. We have repeatedly raised alarm – including to your Office – over the extreme measures taken by Chinese authorities since 2017 to root out the religious traditions, cultural practices, and local languages of the region’s Muslim ethnic groups. Carried out under the guise of fighting “terrorism”, these crimes have targeted ethnic Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Hui, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks and Tajiks.
In 2020, an unprecedented number of special procedures issued a landmark statement expressing concerns over human rights violations in China, including in the Uyghur region, and called for the UN to take decisive action. Treaty Bodies have also raised concerns over the situation in that region over the last five years.
In contrast to these efforts, we have been concerned by the relative silence of your Office in the face of these grave violations, aside from procedural updates on the status of negotiations to gain meaningful access to Xinjiang. In that context, we welcomed your confirmation in September last year that your Office was “finalising its assessment of the available information on allegations of serious human rights violations in [Xinjiang] with a view to making it public.” Six months later, after having been assured by your spokesperson in December the report would be released in a matter of weeks, the world is still awaiting that report.
Victims and survivors should not have to wait any longer. They and their families deserve justice and accountability, and need to know that your Office stands with them.
We urge you to fulfil your mandate, release the report without further delay, and brief members and observers of the UN Human Rights Council on its contents as a matter of urgency.
Accountability can wait no longer.
Signatories:
- 21Wilberforce
- ACAT-France
- Access Accountability
- Alberta Uyghur Association
- Alliance des Avocats pour les Droits de l’Homme
- Alliance for Vietnam’s Democracy
- ALTSEAN-Burma
- American Alliance for Automotive Corporate Social Responsibility
- American Muslim Bar Association
- Amnesty International
- Arakan Rohingya National Organisation
- ARTICLE 19
- Asia Democracy Network
- Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
- Australian East Turkestan Association
- Australian Uyghur Association
- Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women’s Association
- Austria Uyghur Association
- Bauhinias For Freedom
- Bay Area Friends of Tibet
- Be Slavery Free
- Belgium Uyghur Association
- Blue Crescent Humanitarian Aid Association
- Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
- Campaign for Uyghurs
- Canadian Coalition Against Communisms
- Carleton University
- China Against the Death Penalty
- China Aid
- China Change
- Chinese Christian Fellowship of Righteousness 華人基督徒公義團契
- Chinese Human Rights Defenders
- Chulalongkorn University’s Student Union
- Church of Scientology National Affairs Office
- CIDH AFRICA
- Coalition Burkinabè des Défenseurs des Droits Humains (CBDDH)
- Coalition des défenseurs des droits humains du Benin
- Comité de Apoyo al Tíbet - CAT
- Crane Center for Mass Atrocity Prevention
- CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
- DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
- Dialogue China
- Dutch Uyghur Human Rights Foundation
- East Turkestan Press and Media Association
- East Turkestan Union of Muslim Scholars
- East Turkistan Association in Finland
- East Turkistan Association of Canada
- East Turkistan Education and Solidarity Association
- East Turkistan Entrepreneur Tradesmen and Industrialists Businessmen Association
- East Turkistan Human Rights Watch
- East Turkistan New Generation Movement
- East Turkistan Nuzugum Culture and Family Association
- East Turkistan Sports and Development Association
- East Turkistan Union in Europe
- Eastern Turkistan Foundation
- Engage Action
- European East Turkistan Education Association
- EXCUBITUSdhe
- Family Research Council
- Fédération Euro-méditerranéenne contre les disparitions Forcées
- Federation for a Democratic China
- Finnish Uyghur Culture Center
- Frankfurt stands with Hongkong
- Fundacion Aguaclara
- GAYa NUSANTARA Foundation
- Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities
- Green Advocates International (Liberia)
- Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
- Hebrew Congregation of Somers
- Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
- Hirschfeld-Eddy-Stiftung
- Hong Kong Committee in Norway
- Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC)
- Hong Kong Global Connect
- Human Asia
- Human Rights in China (HRIC)
- Human Rights Watch
- Human Trafficking Search
- Humanitarian China
- Ilham Tohti Initiative
- Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council
- International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute
- International Campaign For Tibet
- International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC)
- International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
- International Pen Uyghur Center
- International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
- International Society for Human Rights, Chapter Munich
- International Support for Uyghurs
- International Tibet Network
- International Union of East Turkistan Organizations
- International Uyghur Human Right and Democracy Foundation
- IRPOO Siberia without torture
- Isa Yusup Alptekin Foundation
- Islamic Community Milli Gorus
- Islamic Information & Services Foundation Malaysia
- Japan Uyghur Association
- Jewish Movement for Uyghur Freedom
- Jewish World Watch
- Judicial Reform Foundation
- Justice For All
- Justice for Uyghurs - Switzerland
- Lady Lawyer Foundation
- Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada
- Le Comité pour la Liberté à Hong-Kong
- Liberty and Democracy Advocacy Club University of Calgary
- Malaysia4Uyghur
- Mamatjan Nayup
- Minaret Foundation
- Minh Van Foundation
- Minority Rights Group International (MRG)
- Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
- Mulmangcho
- National Committee of Democratic Party of China
- Netherlands for Hong Kong
- No Business With Genocide
- Northern California Hong Kong Club
- Norwegian Uyghur Committee
- Omer Uygur Foundation
- Peace Catalyst International
- People for Successful Corean Reunification (PSCORE)
- People's Watch
- Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights)
- Planet Ally
- PROMEDEHUM
- René Cassin, the Jewish voice for human rights
- Safeguard Defenders
- Satuq Bugrakhan Foundation of Science and Civilization
- SAVE TIBET Austria
- Silk Road Peace Project
- Society for Threatened Peoples
- Society Union of Uyghur National Association
- Solidarité Chine, Paris
- Solidarity Sisters Network of Liberia (SoSNoL)
- Stepping Stones
- Stop Uyghur Genocide Australia
- Stop Uyghur Genocide Canada
- Sweden Uyghur Education Union
- Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association
- Switzerland East Turkestan Association
- The Community Human Rights Promotion and Protection Association - ACPDH
- The International Women's Alliance for Family Institution and Quality Education
- The Lesbian and Gay Association of Liberia (LEGAL)
- The Rights Practice
- Tibet Action Institute
- Tibet Justice Center
- Tibet Solidarity
- Tibet Support Group Ireland
- Tibetan Youth Association in Europe
- Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG)
- Uigur Society of the Kyrgyz Republic
- Umer Uyghur Trust
- Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam
- United Council of Vietnamese Homeland and Overseas
- United Macedonian Diaspora
- Uyghur Academy
- Uyghur Academy Australia
- Uyghur Academy Canada
- Uyghur Academy Europe
- Uyghur Academy Foundation
- Uyghur Academy Japan
- Uyghur Academy USA
- Uyghur American Association
- Uyghur Association of Victoria, Australia
- Uyghur Center for Human Rights and Democracy
- Uyghur Cultural and Education Union in Germany
- Uyghur Education Union
- Uyghur Human Rights Project
- Uyghur Mosque
- Uyghur Projects Foundation
- Uyghur Refugee Relief Fund
- Uyghur Research Institute
- Uyghur Right’s Advocacy Project
- Uyghur Science and Civilization Research Foundation
- Uyghur Support Group Netherlands
- Uyghur Transitional Justice Database
- Uyghur U.K. Association
- Uyghur Youth Union in Kazakhstan
- Uzbekistan Uyghur Culture Center
- Victoria Uyghur Association
- Viet Democratic Side's International Forum
- Vietnam Helsinki Human Rights Committee
- Vietnam Human Rights Day - May 11 Organization
- Vietnam Human Rights Network
- Vietnamese Nationalist Party
- Visual Artists Guild
- Witness Radio - Uganda
- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
- World Uyghur Congress
- World Uyghur Congress Foundation
- World Without Genocide
- Young leadership for social change network
