(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/6/2022) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called the United Nations Human Rights Council’s vote against holding a debate on the Uyghur genocide “shameful.” CAIR also called on Muslim nations to unite in supporting Uyghur Muslims and other Turkic minorities targeted by the Chinese Communist Party.
The UN Human Rights Council on Thursday voted against holding a debate on alleged abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic minority groups in China’s Xinjiang region. The draft decision to hold the debate was presented by the United States last month, following the August release of a report stating that China’s human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang region may constitute crimes against humanity. Following lobbying by Beijing, the council voted 19-17 against holding a debate, with 11 countries abstaining. Several Muslim nations were among those who voted against holding the debate.
SEE: UN rights council blocks debate on China’s abuses in Xinjiang
https://www.ft.com/content/e00c7c4f-f28a-4d6e-b9a4-eb89df8d6d81
Amnesty International blasts U.N. council for not taking up Uyghur issue
In a statement, CAIR Deputy Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“It is tragic and shameful that the UN Human Rights Council and so many Muslim-majority member nations have refused to even discuss the Chinese Communist Party’s campaign of genocide against Uyghur Muslims.
“The evidence is clear: China has imprisoned over a million Uyghur Muslims in concentration camps, banned them from practicing Islam, forced them work in factories as slave laborers, raped and sterilized countless women, and destroyed hundreds of ancient mosques, among other crimes against humanity designed to erase Uyghur Muslim culture.”
“The Chinese Communist Party is waging a war against Islam in the Uyghur region of China, and the Muslim world must use our collective economic and political power at the United Nations to expose and stop it.”
He noted that CAIR welcomed the draft decision to hold a debate on allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang last month.
SEE: CAIR Welcomes U.S. Call for UN Debate on Chinese Abuses in Uyghur Region
CAIR responded to the release of the UN report on Xinjiang in August by calling on the Chinese government to end its crimes.
SEE: CAIR Calls on China to Free Uyghurs, End its War on Islam After U.N. Report Documents Crimes Against Humanity
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com