Thread by @andreasmoun

▶️Special Report - Criticism of #Uyghur Tribunal on the Investigation of Human Rights Abuses

It is believed that more than one million #Uyghurs have been detained by the #Chinese government against their will in camps called “re-education camps” by the state.

(1) The tribunal consists of a panel of lawyers based in Britain and human rights experts. The tribunal is examining the reports of genocide, torture and abuse of human rights in the #Xinjiang region of #China.

(2) It is believed that more than one million Uyghurs have been detained by the Chinese government against their will in camps called “re-education camps” by the state. The Chinese government calls it a campaign against terrorism.

(3) Reportedly, there is evidence of Uyghurs being used as forced labour and women getting sterilised forcefully to subdue the population. Some have also alleged that the people in camps are being tortured and sexually abused.

(4) There are also allegations of removing children from their families and also attempts to break the cultural and ethnic practices of the group.

(5) The population of Uyghurs in China is around 12 million most of which are Muslim. Uyghurs are living in Xinjiang which is situated in the north-west region of China.

(6) The Xinjiang region is autonomous like the Tibet region which ideally should mean that it has some power and control of self-government. But, in reality, the region is subjected to restrictions by the central government.

(7) For a brief period of time, Uyghurs had declared the independence of the region but it was soon brought under the control of Chinese government in 1949.

(8) Several countries, including Canada, Netherlands and United States have accused China of committing genocide and crimes against humanity on Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.

(9) China is also facing certain sanctions like the ban on the purchase of Xinjiang cotton and tomatoes by the United States. Some have also called for a boycott of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

(10) The UK-based Uyghur Tribunal has made certain hearings live for the public in which witnesses have presented live evidence of the abuse in the Xinjiang region of China. In its first round of hearings, the tribunal heard around 38 witnesses.

(11) The Chinese government has been very critical of the world's response or opinion over the issue. The government has also criticised the working of the tribunal and has said that it has nothing to do with truth, justice or law.

(12) China has called the tribunal a kangaroo court. Amnesty International, a human rights organisation, has also accused the Chine of crimes against humanity and genocide.

(13) Uyghur Human Rights Project, a Washington-based human rights advocacy, reporting and research organisation has issued a 57-page long report containing that the authorities of China are forcing Uyghurs to speak on the camera against the Uyghur human rights movement.

(14) The report is analysing and describing the videos released by the government of China on the private and family lives of Uyghurs.

(15)
To discredit the women witnesses and refute the story of abuse in Xinjiang, Chinese officials attacked the character of the women, charged some of having sexually transmitted disease and other of having affairs.

(16) It is believed that China is afraid of losing the command over Xinjiang story.

China has been trying hard to do damage control by making statements that the truth and facts are being ignored by anti-China forces and the people in Xinjiang are living peacefully.

(17) China has been reluctant to allow diplomats and journalists to access the camps. A human rights committee of the UN in 2008 had stated to have reliable reports of China detaining around million people in “counter-extremism centres” in Xinjiang.

(18) But China has time and again refuted all the allegations and has said that everyone has been released from the “re-education” camps.

(19) They have categorised the camps as vocational training centres and said that people have graduated from them. China has increased its campaign on state media to counter the criticism over the issue.