CFU Press Release
For Immediate Release
06:00, December 9, 2021
Contact: contact@campaignforuyghurs.org
www.campaignforuyghurs.org
The Uyghur Tribunal in London Concluded that the People’s Republic of China Has Committed Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, and Torture, Against Uyghurs and other Muslims in East Turkistan.
Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) wishes to recognize and congratulate the Uyghur Tribunal on their having reached a declaration of Genocide. This is a historic moment, and one made possible by the combined efforts of hundreds of individuals, especially those brave enough to testify before the tribunal in the face of intimidation by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The international community now has at its disposal an independent, unbiased, and holistic determination that the crimes being conducted against the Uyghurs do in fact constitute the highest crime humanity has defined: Genocide.
Dr. Rishat Abbas, Senior Advisor of CFU and the World Uyghur Congress said “This is a moment in which every Uyghur person can feel a deep sense of validation and support. I was fortunate enough to attend the second session of the Tribunal and see firsthand the bravery of witnesses who testified on their time spent in the CCP’s concentration camps. The world can see for itself in the words of these witnesses, and in the thousands of pages of evidence collected by the tribunal, that this is an atrocity of historic proportions. I express my greatest gratitude to those in the tribunal whose work brought us to this moment, and I ask the international community to listen, and hear, the Tribunal’s judgment for this active genocide.”
CFU is especially proud to recognize the testimony of Rushan Abbas, Executive Director, and Abdulhakim Idris, Executive Director of Center For Uyghur Studies and author of “Menace: China’s Colonization of the Islamic World and Uyghur Genocide”, whose testimony and work made today possible. It must be noted that this is a people’s tribunal, and as such is not motivated by any government’s policies or biases. As well, it will require the governments of the world to act in the name of this tribunal’s determination, which we call upon them to do. It is moments like these that we will reflect on in the future as a determinant for strong action, and ask why we did not do more.
At the conclusion of the June session of the Tribunal, Chair Sir Geoffrey Nice said “Governments that spend time and energy avoiding deciding on grave issues in order to avoid dealing with possible consequences of any such decision might consider what this exercise reveals” He continued that “eliciting truth, in the case of the tribunal truth being facts proved beyond a reasonable doubt and nothing less, may not be a comfortable experience[…]Truth-telling is for the brave as we have seen, not for the faint-hearted. And the telling, even for those who have set out their personal histories in many settings, is each time a personal experience beyond the comprehension of onlookers. It is their courage that drives the process.” CFU could not agree more with Sir Nice’s remarks and looks forward to the reflection of governments on how they may honor the courage of witnesses.
Mr. Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress said at the conclusion of the verdict ”This is a historic day for Uyghurs. The Uyghur genocide has now been confirmed by a quasi-legal body. This is unprecedented. Today’s verdict, although non-binding is extremely important as it can be used as a base for state parties of the UN Genocide Convention to use legal means to hold the perpetrators of this ongoing genocide to account.”’
