Critical analysis – Human rights violation of Uighur Muslims in China

THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY DIVYA ANAND, A STUDENT OF SYMBIOSIS LAW SCHOOL, PUNE

Introduction

Systematic eradication of culture – Over the course of several years, the international community has become increasingly aware of the fact that China’s Uighur Muslims are subjected to a systemic crusade of abuse, incarceration, and human rights violations on a scale that is unprecedented in contemporary history. China’s government has imprisoned Uighur Muslims in concentration camps, claiming that they are “re-educational camps.” The torture has claimed the lives of many Uighur Muslims, and they have been forcibly converted. The remaining one-third of the population has been imprisoned for a variety of reasons, the most important of which are forced labour, organ harvesting, biological weapon testing, proof of life, and the testing of the COVID – 19 vaccine. In recent years, some scientists and historians have begun to use the term “genocide” to describe China’s activities in the Xinjiang region of the country. Those who belong to religious minorities are subjected to modern-day slavery, and women are forced to undergo sterilisation. However, despite the strong charges that point to mass atrocities such as genocide or crimes against humanity, the international community has done little or nothing to ensure that the claimed atrocities are investigated and those guilty are brought to justice. With the exception of a few empty words that were not followed up with harsh and firm efforts to aid the fates of the targeted communities, international organisations such as the United Nations have remained deafeningly mute.

Who are the Uighurs Muslims?

In Central Asia, the Uighurs are Muslims of primarily Turkic origin who have long-standing ties to and cultural similarities with the peoples of Central Asian countries. A separate dialect is spoken by Uighurs in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. Members of the Uighur minority can be found in all three countries. Trading and agriculture were the backbones of the region’s economy for centuries, and multiple cities were a part of the world-famous Silk Road, which ran through the region. When communist China established complete authority over the region in 1949, the world took notice. Despite the fact that it is still referred to as a “independent” region, in reality, China has complete control over the region, just as it does over the other “autonomous” region of Tibet.

Heart of the unrest – Xinjiang

While the situation is complex, many believe that ethnic disputes precipitated by economic and cultural difficulties are at the basis of the recent war. Prosperity has been delivered to Xinjiang’s metropolitan centres as a result of massive construction projects, which have attracted young and technically skilled Han Chinese from eastern provinces. According to reports, Han Chinese are given the highest-paid professions and the majority of them prosper monetarily, which has fueled hatred among Uighurs. China has been accused of escalating its persecution on Uighurs in the 1990s and again in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. However, things took a turn for the worst in 2009, when sweeping ethnic revolts erupted in the regional capital, Urumqi. According to officials, over 200 individuals were murdered in the riots, the most of whom were Han Chinese.

What China is doing in Xinjiang

In spite of the fact that China has been suppressing the religious, economic, and cultural rights of Uighurs Muslims for many years, the oppression has reached horrific proportions in the last two decades or so, particularly since Xi Jinping became president. Tens of thousands of Han Chinese, the majority ethnic group in mainland China, have migrated to Xinjiang, as has happened in Tibet. Beijing has encouraged this migration. When street protests before the 2008 Beijing Olympics resulted in a severe repression, the world took notice of the plight of the Uighurs Muslims. The world was outraged. Since then, reports have stated that fasting during Ramadan has been forbidden, worshipping in mosques has been restricted, and Uighurs are not permitted to grow facial hair or beards in the majority of cases. The majority of mosques have been demolished, and other public structures have been constructed on top of them, with no regard for their religious beliefs. In addition, there are the ill-reputed’re-education camps,’ where up to a million Uighurs have been held — an enormous amount, which means that one in every ten members of the population is effectively imprisoned in these camps without any possibility of a trial or any hope of gaining release. It has been reported that hundreds of thousands of Uighurs Muslims have been detained for years in brainwashing camps for minor offences such as browsing the internet, wearing a burkha or veil, or growing facial hair, and that hundreds of thousands have been detained for years for no apparent reason. Children are frequently forcibly converted after being separated from their parents. Recent indications indicate that even more unsettling operations are taking place. According to reports, China is engaging out mass and forced sterilisation of Uighur Muslim women with the long-term goal of reducing the population of the minority group in question. In China, women from the Uighur group are subjected to frequent pregnancy test screenings, and they are coerced into using measures that reduce their reproductive potential. According to the most recent reporting, IUDs and sterilisation are being utilised to control population growth. The use of sterilisation and intrauterine devices (IUDs) has decreased throughout China, but has increased significantly in the Xinjiang region.

Forced labor

ASPI’s study claims that about 80,000 Uighurs Muslims have been coerced into working in factories that are part of the supply chains of at least 83 multinational companies, including Adidas, Nike, H&M and The North Face. According to the research, these corporations have been employing coerced Uighur Muslim labour in their supply lines for some time. Consequently, they may find themselves in violation of rules that restrict the importation of items that have been produced using forced labour. Forced labour metrics from the International Labor Organization (ILO) are included.

According to a recent report published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), between 2017 and 2019 –

The report is organised around a few case studies. According to the report, in January 2020, approximately 600 ethnic minority workers from Xinjiang were employed at Qingdao Taekwang Shoes Co. Ltd., which manufactures Nike sneakers. It goes on to say, “During the day, Uighur labourers make Nike shoes at the factory.” They attend a night school in the evening where they study Mandarin, sing the Chinese national anthem, and receive ‘vocational training’ and ‘patriotic education.’ The curriculum is very similar to that of Xinjiang’s “re-education camps.” A month after the release of the ASPI report, the majority of the named companies have yet to respond to the allegations, whether to refute them or explain their due diligence procedures.

Uighur births controlled with IUDs, abortion, sterilization

In a far-reaching campaign to reduce the country’s Muslim population, the Chinese government is enacting draconian measures to reduce the birth rates of Uighur Muslims and other minorities, while encouraging some members of the country’s Han majority to have more than two children. For many years, Muslims constituted the overwhelming majority in the dry and landlocked region that China today refers to as “Xinjiang,” which translates as “New Frontier” in Mandarin. However, despite the fact that some women have expressed their opposition to forced birth control in the past, an Associated Press investigation found that the practise is far more widespread and systematic than previously recognised. The investigation was based on government statistics, state documents, and interviews with thirty ex-detainees, family members, and a former detention camp teacher. The effort, which has been ongoing in Xinjiang’s far western area for the past four years, has resulted in what some analysts describe as a manner of “demographic genocide.” Pregnancy test screenings on minority women are common, and the state regularly pushes intrauterine devices, sterilisation, and even abortion on hundreds of thousands of women, according to the interviews and data collected. Despite the fact that the use of IUDs and sterilisation has declined across the country, it is expanding dramatically in the Xinjiang region. Mass detention is used in conjunction with population control methods, both as a deterrent and as a punishment for those who do not comply. According to the Associated Press, having an excessive number of children is a major reason for people being detained in detention centres, with parents with three or more children being separated from their families unless they can pay large bribes. Police raid houses on a daily basis, causing anxiety among parents as they search for their missing children. As evidenced in interview after interview, the result of the birth control campaign has created a climate of fear around having children as a result of the campaign. The birth rate in the predominantly Uighur districts of Hotan and Kashgar fell by more than 60% between 2015 and 2018, the most recent year for which official government statistics are available. According to statistics, birth rates in the Xinjiang region have continued to decline, falling by about 24 percent in the past year alone, compared to a national decrease of only 4.2 percent. Secret service agents and armed police officers began knocking on doors in search of hiding children and pregnant women. According to interviews and attendance cards and booklets, members of the minority population were obliged to attend weekly flag-raising ceremonies, where officials threatened arrest if they did not register all of their children. According to notices discovered by the Associated Press, local administrations established or enhanced mechanisms to compensate those who report unlawful births. Following these rituals, women were required to undergo gynecological examinations in some locations. Officials set up specific rooms with ultrasound scanners for the purpose of performing pregnancy testing.

Analysis

Officials from many governments and political parties, as well as ambassadors, appear to have coined the term “fake news” to characterise anything that does not align with their personal or political goals. But despite these grave accusations that point to mass murders that could be classified as genocide or crimes against humanity, the international community has done little or nothing to ensure that the alleged murders and other crimes are thoroughly investigated and those responsible are brought to justice. International organisations, such as the United Nations, have remained deafeningly silent, issuing a few imprecise and meaningless statements that have not been followed up with concrete efforts to improve the lot of these targeted minorities communities. According to the current situation, there is no international authority that might investigate the allegations of massacres against Uighur Muslims and/or bring criminal charges against those who are involved. Because China is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court (ICC), the only permanent international criminal court in existence, does not have jurisdiction over the alleged atrocities committed in China. However, it is unclear if the International Criminal Court (ICC) will accept jurisdiction over the situation and proceed with investigations. An ad hoc criminal tribunal should be established by the United Nations Security Council to investigate these atrocities. However, any such action by the UN Security Council may be easily thwarted by the Chinese veto, as China is one of the permanent five members of the UN Security Council and as such has the authority to veto any proceedings before the Security Council. It is understandable that the Uighur Tribunal will be unable to adequately examine the crimes and bring the offenders to justice. What the Uighur Tribunal can do, on the other hand, is cast light on the crimes and serve as a catalyst for action by the international community to address them.

Conclusion

Simply repeating something over and over again and vociferously does not make it true. The Chinese government has stated that the camps are vocational training centres with re-educational purposes. No matter what we name it, the annihilation of culture is foolish and wrong, regardless of what we call it “re-training” or “education.” What appears to be taking place in Xinjiang goes well beyond that, and is rapidly nearing the realms of genocide and ethnic cleansing. However, it is upsetting to note that ethnic cleansing and genocide are not new phenomena. In fact, even in the twenty-first century, when we consider ourselves to be more advanced and enlightened than our forefathers, it appears that the techniques are still in use. Many activities have been launched by Generation Z to draw awareness to this issue, and a large number of petitions have been signed as a result. The media coverage, on the other hand, is still at its lowest point.