(WASHINGTON, D.C., 9/26/2022) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a call by the U.S. government for the UN Human Rights Council to organize a debate on human rights violations and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang region.
In its first-ever draft resolution to the top UN rights body focused on China, the U.S. asked for “a debate on the situation of human rights in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region” to be held at the council’s session next week.
The draft was co-sponsored by Britain, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway. The request comes after last month’s report by UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet, which documented “credible” allegations of widespread torture, arbitrary detention, forced abortions, and violations of religious rights.
SEE: US Asks UN Rights Council to Debate China Rights Abuses
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-asks-un-rights-council-to-debate-china-rights-abuses/6763187.html
“Every nation should oppose China’s ongoing campaign of genocide against Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities,” said CAIR Deputy Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell. “We welcome our nation’s request for a debate on this issue at the next meeting of the UN Human Rights Council and we urge all members to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its crimes against humanity.”
He noted that after Bachelet’s report was released last month, CAIR called on the Chinese government to free Uyghurs detained in concentration camps and end its war on Islam in Xinjiang.
SEE: CAIR Calls on China to Free Uyghurs, End its War on Islam After U.N. Report Documents Crimes Against Humanity
CAIR recently welcomed a new State Department report detailing China’s global disinformation campaign on the repression of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.
CAIR also welcomed a new United Nations report on the modern form of slavery imposed on the Uyghur Muslim minority by the Chinese government. CAIR also welcomed a criminal complaint filed in Argentina by the World Uyghur Congress and the Uyghur Human Rights Project setting out the international crimes being committed against the Uyghur and other Turkic people in China.
CAIR recently called for “vigorous enforcement” of a new law that blocks imports linked to forced labor by Uyghur Muslims and other persecuted groups in China.
The Washington, D.C., based civil rights organization also responded to the unprecedented leak of hacked files exposing China’s ongoing genocide of Uyghur Muslims in concentration camps by calling on American corporations to stop doing business with the Chinese Communist Party.
Earlier this year, CAIR welcomed the release by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of two sample Known Importer Letters relating to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) that the agency had promised to issue to importers identified as potentially subject to the new law. In addition to the sample Known Importer Letters, CBP released guidance on enforcement mechanisms under UFLPA.
CAIR also called on Muslim-majority nations around the world to unite and demand that China immediately stop the genocide of Uyghur Muslims.
BACKGROUNDER ON UYGHUR GENOCIDE:
The Chinese government is targeting Uyghur Muslims and other Turkic ethnic minorities with a campaign of genocide. Millions of Uyghurs have been detained in concentration camps in which beatings, torture and rape are the norm. Millions more are being used as slave labor on plantations and in Chinese factories.
CAIR and more than 40 international partners have an ongoing campaign calling on members of the public to not make reservations at Hilton Hotels due to the corporation’s connection with the Uyghur genocide.
COMMUNITY ADVISORY: CAIR Calls on Public to Not Reserve at Hilton Hotels Over Holidays Due to Uyghur Genocide Connection – #BoycottHilton
In April, CAIR welcomed a new report by the U.S. Department of State exposing China’s ongoing genocide targeting Uyghurs Muslims in Xinjiang.
In its country report for China, the State Department said:
“Genocide and crimes against humanity occurred during the year against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. These crimes were continuing and included: the arbitrary imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty of more than one million civilians; forced sterilization, coerced abortions, and more restrictive application of the country’s birth control policies; rape; torture of a large number of those arbitrarily detained; forced labor; and draconian restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, and freedom of movement.”
2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (Includes Hong Kong, Macau, and Tibet)
https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/china/
CAIR also called on Secretary of State Blinken to offer asylum to four Uyghurs, including a 13-year-old-girl, that Saudi Arabia reportedly plans to deport to China unless another country offers them refuge.
CAIR joined several advocacy groups, including Free Uyghur Now, Uyghur American Association, Campaign for Uyghurs, and Uyghur Human Rights Project to stage protests outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Washington D.C, and consulates in New York and Los Angeles, to call on the Kingdom to halt its planned deportation of Uyghurs to China.
SEE: Breaking: Emergency Rallies in NY, DC, LA, Vancouver to Stop Deportation of Uyghurs by Saudi Arabia
In January, CAIR joined more than 70 Uyghur, interfaith, and human rights organizations to send letters to the Saudi government calling on them to stop the deportations.
In December 2021, CAIR welcomed President Biden’s signing of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (S.65/H.R.1155) into law. CAIR also welcomed new sanctions by the Biden administration on several Chinese government entities and corporations over abuses they committed against Uyghur Muslims and other minorities.
SEE: BREAKING: CAIR Welcomes President Biden’s Signing of Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Into Law
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