Last week, Uyghur activists and American lawmakers commemorated two years since an unofficial tribunal in London claimed that China committed genocide upon its Uyghur population. Since then, calls to action, that seek justice for those affected by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) regime, have remained unanswered.
On Dec. 9, 2021, the Uyghur Tribunal, which was attended by lawyers, academics and other business-related individuals, allegedly found that the CCP has conducted horrid crimes against humanity on the Muslim ethnic minority.
Following the claims, the tribunal stated that it was “satisfied” that Beijing had taken a “deliberate, systematic and concerted policy with the object of so-called ‘optimizing’ the population” of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province, greatly affecting their birth rates.
It is also said that the policies were also aimed to eradicate Uyghur culture and absorb the minority into the CCP’s way of life through “re-education.”
Despite not having official government support, the organizers of the tribunal still hope that the evidence presented could spur the world to act against the CCP’s actions.
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During the commemoration event, Uyghur activists gathered in the Caucus Room of the House of Representatives, pressing the need to acknowledge what the CCP is committing, in addition to taking “tangible actions” to stop them.
“By holding this event, we want to highlight the importance of commemorating the victims of the Uyghur genocide and honor the survivors,” said Omer Kanat, executive chairman of the World Uyghur Congress and director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project.
“But we must act without delay on real action, for accountability, deterrence and a practical humanitarian response,” he said.
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The need for a response
In the two years since the tribunal’s findings, many have called to take action against the CCP’s supposed atrocities.
Republican Representative Young Kim said she understood the plight of the Uyghurs present in the commemoration, given that several of her family members were defectors from North Korea. She also called for Congress to push for bills like the Uyghur Policy Act, pressing for recognition of the genocide by free countries.
The Uyghur Policy Act, which has gained support despite its failure to pass in a previous congressional session, would produce an Uyghur language program for American diplomats, in the hopes that the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and American Consulates in China could have Uyghur speakers.
Meanwhile, Kelley Currie, former deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (UN), expressed her distaste for how American business has “white washed” Beijing recently. This came after several American CEOs, including Tim Cook, Larry Fink and Steve Schwarzman, applauded Xi Jinping after the communist leader delivered a speech at a gala dinner in November.
During that dinner, Xi claimed that “China is a partner and friend of the United States,” Reuters reported. Currie said that the biggest offender “groveling” with Chinese officials was the financial services industry, who are desperately trying to spare their assets in China.
“It’s time for all of us to demand an end to business as usual,” she said. “It’s time that our actions become commensurate with our words.”
After the Trump administration stated that China was carrying out a “genocide” against the Uyghurs, the Biden administration continued the sentiment, contributing to tense relations between the U.S. and China.
During the 75th anniversary of the UN convention on genocide, the organization’s humans right chief, Volker Turk, was lambasted for failing to acknowledge the Uyghurs’ plight, after having made other references to the Holocaust, and the Khmer Rogue’s massacres in Cambodia, Rwanda and Yugoslavia.
“Volker Turk’s statement means little when people in powerful positions like him are not prepared to act over a well-documented and publicized genocide happening against the Uyghur people, recognized by free parliaments and by tribunal,” Rahima Mahmut, the UK DIrector for the World Uyghur Congress told Radio Free Asia (RFA) Uyghur.
“I personally find it disgraceful how so many people rightly acting against other atrocities are silent on China,” he added.
