CFU PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2024, 10:00 AM
Contact: contact@campaignforuyghurs.org
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www.campaignforuyghurs.org
Washington, D.C. – Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) welcomes the recent update from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which reaffirms the need for a thorough investigation into human rights violations in the Uyghur region. The brief arrives as we approach the second anniversary of the OHCHR’s assessment of the Uyghur plight, which documented egregious abuses, including torture, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor, and family separations, and concluded that China’s actions amount to “crimes against humanity.”
On August 27, 2024, the OHCHR spokesperson provided an update on the work of the UN Human Rights Office on China, specifically in the Uyghur region. Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani highlighted that “many problematic laws and policies” are still present against the Uyghur and other Turkic communities and emphasized the High Commissioner’s commitment to advocating for the victims of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) human rights abuses. The update also noted the “difficulties posed by limited access to information” and the disturbing reality that those who work with the United Nations face reprisals from the Chinese regime.
The 2022 assessment recommended China to release all unjustly imprisoned individuals, whether in prisons or other detention facilities, immediately cease all intimidation and reprisals against Uyghurs, and invite working groups and special rapporteurs to conduct unfettered visits to the region, among other actions. However, China rejected all recommendations, deeming the report “illegal and void.”
“The update from the OHCHR underscores that the reality on the ground remains unchanged after two years. The world must unite to hold those responsible for the Uyghur genocide accountable,” said Rushan Abbas, CFU’s Founder and Executive Director. “It has been nearly six years since my sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, was unjustly imprisoned by the Chinese regime and countless days and nights since the Uyghurs in the region have suffered under the CCP’s brutal genocidal policies. The time for mere acknowledgments and condemnations is over—meaningful action must happen now,” she added.
CFU urges the United Nations to continue to meet with Uyghurs in the diaspora to gather critical information on the continued atrocities that are occurring in the region. Governments, corporations, civil society, and NGOs must work together to demand targeted actions to end the ongoing Uyghur genocide.
