CFU Press Release
For Immediate Release
November 14 2022, 3:30 PM ET
Rushan Abbas: rushan@campaignforuyghurs.org, (559) 375-3571
campaignforuyghurs.org
As the G20 summit in Indonesia gets underway this week, many world leaders will meet Chinese Communist Party secretary Xi Jinping for the first time since he secured a third term in office in October 2022. Campaign for Uyghurs(CFU) calls on G20 countries to directly and publicly challenge Xi over Beijing’s genocidal crimes at the summit, and to express their intent to pursue justice through national and international means. Import bans should be adopted and enforced on goods that are linked to Uyghur forced labor and elsewhere.
Fifty countries supported the findings of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights report on Uyghurs in a joint statement at the UN on October 31, which found Beijing’s policies “may constitute… crimes against humanity.” An initiative was put forward last month by a group of countries to ensure that the report’s findings were debated at the UN Human Rights Council; however, it failed by 19 to 17.
Executive Director Rushan Abbas said “G20 meetings offer governments the opportunity to build on the emerging momentum for an international investigation and accountability for the Chinese regime’s genocide against the Uyghur people. This summit is an opportunity to confront the Chinese regime on the international stage in order to defend humanity.”
When it comes to global issues, such as human rights violations, slavery and crimes against humanity, CFU calls on G20 governments to not temper their expectations of Xi’s rule. It is important that they work together to hold Xi accountable and promote respect for human rights within and beyond China. Recent events give us confidence that China’s Uyghur genocide can be scrutinized globally to protect the future of a democratic free world.
