25 February 2020 – Washington, DC

Joint statement by the ETGE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Parliament-in-Exile

The East Turkistan Government-in-Exile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the East Turkistan Parliament-in-Exile commends The Right Honorable Lord Tariq Ahmad, the Minister of State for International Development of the United Kingdom, for speaking up in defense of the Uyghurs of East Turkistan.

On behalf of the United Kingdom, Lord Ahmad delivered a speech at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva earlier today, in which he raised the issue of China’s systematic persecution of Uyghurs in Occupied East Turkistan including the mass interment of millions of Uyghurs, along with China’s systematic restrictions on Uyghur culture and the practice of Islam. Lord Ahmad called on China “to allow the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights unfettered access” to East Turkistan.

Thus, on behalf of the Uyghurs and other peoples of East Turkistan, we the East Turkistan Government in Exile, thank the Government of the United Kingdom for speaking up against China’s atrocities in East Turkistan . We call on the UK Government to do more to assist Uyghurs and other peoples of East Turkistan, and we urge the UK Government to look back at its history regarding its unique relationship with East Turkistan and to take it into consideration when dealing with China. Lastly, we call on the UK Government to recognize China’s atrocities as a genocide and to recognize East Turkistan as an occupied country and encourage other countries in the EU and the UN to follow suit.