Free Uyghurs from China Camps

Around 11 million Uyghurs - a mostly Muslim, Turkic speaking ethnic group, who live in the northwestern region of Xinjiang are being held in 'concentration camps.'

It has been estimated that around 1 million Uyghurs and other ethnic Turkic Muslims, Christians and foreign citizens, are being held in secretive internment camps which are located throughout the region. Those not detained have been subjected to intense surveillance, religious restrictions and forced sterilisation.

Human rights organisations, UN officials and multiple foreign governments are urging China to stop but Chinese officials maintain that what they call vocational training centres do not infringe on Uyghurs human rights and have refused to share information about these detention centres; preventing journalists and foreign investigators from examining them. Chinese officials are concerned that Uyghurs hold extremist and separatist ideas, and they view the camps as a way or eliminating threats to China.

Most people in the camps have never been charged with crimes and have no legal avenues to challenge their detentions. The detainees seem to have been targeted for a variety of reasons, according to media reports, including traveling to or contacting people from any of the twenty-six countries China considers sensitive, such as Turkey and Afghanistan; attending services at mosques; having more than three children; and sending texts containing Quranic verses. Often, their only crime is being Muslim, human rights groups say, adding that many Uyghurs have been labeled as extremists simply for practicing their religion.

Experts have estimated that Xinjiang 're-education' efforts started in 2014 and were drastically expanded in 2017. Reuters journalists observing satellite imagery, found 39 of the camps almost tripled in size between April 2017 and August 2018.

Information on what is taking place inside the camps is very limited, however, detainees who managed to flee Chine have described harsh conditions, these are only some of the things that have been described; they are forced to pledge loyalty to the CCP and renounce islam, they're forced to learn mandarin and sing praises for communism. Cameras and microphones monitor their every move and some have said they were tortured with sleep deprivation during interrogations, and women have shared stories of sexual abuse, with many saying they were forced to undergo abortions or have contraceptive devices implanted against their will. Others unfortunately have committed suicide or watched others do so because of the horrific conditions.

President Xi Jinping warned of the 'toxicity of religious extremism' and advocated for using the tools of 'dictatorship' to eliminate Islamist extremism in a series of secret speeches while visiting Xinjiang in 2014. In the speeches, revealed by the New York Times in November 2019, Xi did not explicitly call for arbitrary detention but laid the groundwork for the crackdown in Xinjiang. In March 2017, Xinjiang’s government passed an anti-extremism law that prohibited people from growing long beards and wearing veils in public. It also officially recognised the use of training centres to eliminate extremism.

Chinese officials publicly maintain that the camps have two purposes: to teach Mandarin, Chinese laws, and vocational skills, and to prevent citizens from becoming influenced by extremist ideas, to 'nip terrorist activities in the bud' according to a government report. Pointing out that Xinjiang has not experienced a terrorist attack since December 2016, officials claim the camps have prevented violence.

The government has resisted international pressure to allow in outside investigators, saying anything happening inside Xinjiang is an internal issue. It denies that people are forced to denounce Islam, are detained against their will, and experience abuse in the camps. In early 2019, it organised several trips for foreign diplomats to visit Xinjiang and tour a centre; a U.S. official criticised them as 'highly choreographed.'

Much of the world has condemned China’s detention of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. The UN human rights chief and other UN officials have demanded access to the camps and The European Union has called on China to respect religious freedom and change its policies in Xinjiang. Notably silent are many Muslim nations - prioritising their economic ties and strategic relationships with China, many governments have ignored the human rights abuses. In July 2019, after a group of mostly European countries, and no Muslim majority countries, signed a letter to the UN human rights chief condemning China’s actions in Xinjiang, more than three dozen states, including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, signed their own letter praising China’s 'remarkable achievements' in human rights and its 'counterterrorism' efforts in Xinjiang. Earlier in 2019, Turkey became the only Muslim-majority country to voice concern when its foreign minister called on China to ensure 'the full protection of the cultural identities of the Uyghurs and other Muslims' during a UN Human Rights Council session. In June 2020, President Donald J. Trump signed legislation, passed with overwhelming support from Congress, mandating that individuals face sanctions for oppressing Uyghurs. The law also requires that U.S. businesses and individuals selling products to or operating in Xinjiang ensure their activities don’t contribute to human rights violations, including the use of forced labor. 

How you can help:

- Write to your MP, ask them what Parliament is doing to try and help Uyghurs and to speak out on the human rights abuses and targeted persecution faced by the Uyghurs

- donate to the Uyghur fund link

- Amnesty international urge you to write to the President of China demanding the release of people held against their will link

- One Nation donations link