Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China

Statement of Society for Threatened Peoples on Item 3 („Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development”) of the 15th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

Thank you Mr. President. The Society for Threatened Peoples is very concerned by various governments‘ use of security campaigns and the global war on terrorism as pretexts to repress, persecute, and dilute the cultural identities of religious minorities in their countries. This issue represents a clear cross-section of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism and the Independent Expert on minority rights.

A glaring example of this human rights issue is the Chinese government’s treatment of the Uyghur people of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, the vast majority of whom are Muslim. The authorities equate Uyghurs’ peaceful dissent and religious and cultural activities with terrorism and religious extremism.

The authorities found an opportunity in the September 11th attacks to justify an increased and intensified crackdown on the Uyghur people. That crackdown has been all-encompassing. It has included the stifling of all forms of Uyghur dissent, the repression of Uyghurs’ religious practice and independent expressions of ethnicity, and the overall dilution of Uyghurs’ language, culture, and identity as a distinct people. A glaring example of the authorities’ attack on Uyghurs’ heritage is the current razing of the „Old City” section of Kashgar, a centuries-old center of Uyghur civilization. The crackdown has even further intensified since the July 2009 protest and ethnic unrest in Urumqi, the regional capital.

Uyghurs who peacefully exercise their freedom of expression run the risk of being imprisoned, tortured, and even executed. According to Amnesty International, with the exception of one Tibetan case, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is the only place in China where prisoners of conscience have been executed in recent years.

The authorities regularly charge Uyghurs who engage in non-violent forms of expression with vaguely-defined crimes of „endangering state security.” Most recently, in July 2010, several Uyghur website staff members were convicted and sentenced to various jail terms under this charge.

The Society of Threatened Peoples respectfully requests the Human Rights Council to call on the Chinese authorities to stop using security campaigns and the global war on terrorism as reasons to repress and oppress innocent Uyghurs, and to immediately and unconditionally release all Uyghur prisoners of conscience. Thank you Mr. President.