EU Lawmakers Push To Label Human Rights Abuses In China’s Xinjiang Region As ‘Genocide’

China – Several European lawmakers want to pass a resolution labelling alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region by the Chinese authorities as “genocide.”

The resolution will be presented to the European Parliament this week. The text of the resolution will be reviewed on Wednesday and the vote will take place on Thursday.

The four biggest political parties in the European Parliament: European People’s Party (EPP), the Renew Group, the Socialist and Democrats (S&Ds) and the Conservatives and Reformists, have reportedly backed the motion to designate alleged human rights abuses in China as ‘genocide’.

Human rights abuse in China

The initiative by the EU lawmakers comes weeks after a major data leak exposed over 5,000 Xinjiang police files of Uyghurs who were detained in “re-education camps” between January and July 2018. Many people were detained without any access to legal aid.

Genocide refers to a crime where acts are committed to destroy a religious group. China has been accused of committing genocide against the Uyghur population in the Xinjiang region by many human rights advocates.

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Xinjiang Police Files

The Xinjiang Police Files were publicly shared online as a special project of the Victims of Communism Memorial Fund. Reportedly, many people were detained in camps for visiting countries with Muslim populations.

Human rights activists said that Chinese authorities detained at least one million Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in a network of detention camps.

Forced labour in China

In 2021, over one hundred thousand Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and other Muslim minorities were subjected to forced labour in China. Many activists also believe that the Chinese authorities committed crimes against humanity in the Xinjiang region.

The United States already labelled China’s actions in Xinjiang a “genocide” and “crimes against humanity.” The US also imposed sanctions on China in 2021.