URAP Statement Following the OHCHR Uyghur Report
September 1, 2022
Yesterday, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released their long-awaited Uyghur report on human rights violations by China. The report found and concluded that the “arbitrary and discriminatory detention, enslavement and dramatic drop of the birth rate among Uyghurs” and other Turkic peoples is systematic and state-sponsored, and therefore “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.” The report also verifies allegations of torture, sexual violence, and forced labour through desplacement.
Despite the platform it gives to China’s narrative at times – this report concludes clearly that atrocities inflicted upon Uyghurs are no longer allegations, and require immediate international response with concrete action.
On forced labour, the report states that the “OHCHR shares, from the human rights perspective, the concerns laid out by the ILO supervisory bodies.” The report also makes recommendations to the business community to strengthen human rights risk assessments in the surveillance and security sector in particular, and for companies to respect human rights across activities and business relationships. URAP’s efforts to pass a number of bills tabled in the Senate and the House to be more in line with the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA) could benefit from the support of the OHCHR.
On Uyghur refugees, the report recommends that governments “refrain from returning [Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples] to China” and “provide humanitarian assistance, including medical and psychosocial support, to victims in the States in which they are located.” This statement – alongside the report’s main finding of possible crimes against humanity within China – supports our longstanding claims to various countries in which we have advocated for the rights of Uyghur refugees that the principle of non-refoulment applies to Uyghur refugees. There are substantial grounds for believing that Uyghur refugees would be at risk of “irreparable harm upon return, including persecution, torture, ill-treatment or other serious human rights violations” and they should therefore be granted international legal protection. The report’s recommendation that they are provided humanitarian assistance supports our work advocating for refugee resettlement into Canada. URAP supports MP Sameer Zuberi’s private member’s motion M-62 to resettle 10,000 Uyghur refugees into Canada over two years. With the first parliamentary discussion of this motion coming up on October 25, 2022, the OHCHR report can bolster that discussion ahead of the vote later this year.
These are a few key examples where the OHCHR report may support URAP’s advocacy work in Canada. URAP calls on the Canadian government, which has yet to meaningfully acknowledge the Uyghur genocide, to take action in line with statements from the Canadian parliament and nine other European parliaments. URAP urges all state parties to the Geneva Convention and member states of the UNGA to uphold their legally binding duty to act to hold China accountable.
Alongside statements and recommendations from WUC and other organizations and activists, URAP will continue to push our initiatives both internationally, and within Canada. Countries like Canada, that pride themselves on supporting freedom, democracy and justice, must continue to act to support Uyghurs and fight the ongoing genocide in East Turkestan.