The below article was published by Hindustan Times, photo credit: The Diplomat
Uyghurs are being targeted and rounded up from countries such as Tajikistan and brought back to China where they face atrocities such as forced labour, torture and forced sterilisation.
As many as 38 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have co-signed a letter to International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan KC, urging him to open an investigation into crimes committed by Chinese officials against Uyghur and Turkic people, said the East Turkistan Government in Exile.
Uyghurs are being targeted and rounded up from countries such as Tajikistan and brought back to China where they face atrocities such as forced labour, torture and forced sterilisation. The ICC has jurisdiction to investigate because these crimes started in its territory, like Tajikistan, and continue into China, the East Turkistan Government in Exile said.
The MEPs have sent the letter following the recent report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which concluded that these acts “may constitute crimes against humanity.”
The MEPs’ letter references an initial Article 15 Complaint, filed by representatives of the East Turkistan Government in Exile, the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement, and all Uyghur victims in July 2020. Since then, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) has received three further submissions of compelling evidence of Chinese atrocities against the Uyghur people.
PRESS RELEASE: 38 Members of the @Europarl_EN have co-signed a letter to the @IntlCrimCourt Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC urging him to open an investigation into China’s ongoing genocide & crimes against humanity against Uyghur/Turkic people in East Turkistan.https://t.co/KgGTO8aG5G pic.twitter.com/3tYMo73GGb— East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) (@ETExileGov) September 15, 2022
The letter claims that at least 90 per cent of Uyghurs living in Tajikistan have been either physically or emotionally coerced back to China by Chinese officials. Once in China they are never heard from again and, as numerous reports have shown, they are subjected to appalling cruelties and ill-treatment. This includes brutal interrogations and torture; forced labour; and forced medical procedures.
The Uyghurs are therefore, as found by the MEPs, at serious risk of genocide.
Although China is not itself an ICC member state, the evidence shows that crimes are being committed by Chinese officials within ICC state territory, such as Tajikistan and therefore the ICC has jurisdiction to investigate the whole crime, it added.
The MEPs write, “It is becoming increasingly difficult and irresponsible for those of us in elected positions to ignore this evidence… We hope that you will open this investigation urgently to pursue justice for the countless victims and deter further atrocities being committed against Uyghurs.”
“We welcome the EU Members of Parliament letter urging the International Criminal Court to swiftly launch an investigation into China’s ongoing genocide of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in Occupied East Turkistan,” said Prime Minister Salih Hudayar of the East Turkistan Government in Exile.
“We call on other governments, parliaments, and international organizations to follow suit as time is running out for Uyghurs and China must be held accountable before it is too late,” he added.
