Open letter to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: OHCHR report on grave human rights violations in Xinjiang can wait no longer

8 March 2022

Madam High Commissioner,

We, the undersigned human rights organisations, write to follow up on your commitment last year to release a report on grave ongoing human rights violations by Chinese authorities targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic communities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (the Uyghur region). The release of the report without further delay is essential – to send a message to victims and perpetrators alike that no state, no matter how powerful, is above international law or the robust independent scrutiny of your Office.

As you are aware, many of our organisations have documented how Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the Uyghur region face systematic state-organized mass detention, torture, persecution, and other violations of a scale and nature amounting to crimes against humanity. We have repeatedly raised alarm – including to your Office – over the extreme measures taken by Chinese authorities since 2017 to root out the religious traditions, cultural practices, and local languages of the region’s Muslim ethnic groups. Carried out under the guise of fighting “terrorism”, these crimes have targeted ethnic Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Hui, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks and Tajiks.

In 2020, an unprecedented number of special procedures issued a landmark statement expressing concerns over human rights violations in China, including in the Uyghur region, and called for the UN to take decisive action. Treaty Bodies have also raised concerns over the situation in that region over the last five years.

In contrast to these efforts, we have been concerned by the relative silence of your Office in the face of these grave violations, aside from procedural updates on the status of negotiations to gain meaningful access to Xinjiang. In that context, we welcomed your confirmation in September last year that your Office was “finalising its assessment of the available information on allegations of serious human rights violations in [Xinjiang] with a view to making it public.” Six months later, after having been assured by your spokesperson in December the report would be released in a matter of weeks, the world is still awaiting that report.

Victims and survivors should not have to wait any longer. They and their families deserve justice and accountability, and need to know that your Office stands with them.

We urge you to fulfil your mandate, release the report without further delay, and brief members and observers of the UN Human Rights Council on its contents as a matter of urgency.

Accountability can wait no longer.

Signatories:

1. 21Wilberforce
2. ACAT-France
3. Access Accountability
4. Alberta Uyghur Association
5. Alliance des Avocats pour les Droits de l’Homme 
6. Alliance for Vietnam’s Democracy
7. ALTSEAN-Burma
8. American Alliance for Automotive Corporate Social Responsibility
9. American Muslim Bar Association
10. Amnesty International
11. Arakan Rohingya National Organisation
12. ARTICLE 19 
13. Asia Democracy Network
14. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
15. Australian East Turkestan Association
16. Australian Uyghur Association 
17. Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women’s Association
18. Austria Uyghur Association
19. Bauhinias For Freedom 
20. Bay Area Friends of Tibet
21. Be Slavery Free
22. Belgium Uyghur Association
23. Blue Crescent Humanitarian Aid Association
24. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
25. Campaign for Uyghurs 
26. Canadian Coalition Against Communisms 
27. Carleton University 
28. China Against the Death Penalty 
29. China Aid 
30. China Change
31. Chinese Christian Fellowship of Righteousness 華人基督徒公義團契
32. Chinese Human Rights Defenders
33. Chulalongkorn University’s Student Union
34. Church of Scientology National Affairs Office
35. CIDH AFRICA
36. Coalition Burkinabè des Défenseurs des Droits Humains (CBDDH)
37. Coalition des défenseurs des droits humains du Benin
38. Comité de Apoyo al Tíbet - CAT
39. Crane Center for Mass Atrocity Prevention
40. CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
41. DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
42. Dialogue China
43. Dutch Uyghur Human Rights Foundation
44. East Turkestan Press and Media Association
45. East Turkestan Union of Muslim Scholars
46. East Turkistan Association in Finland
47. East Turkistan Association of Canada 
48. East Turkistan Education and Solidarity Association
49. East Turkistan Entrepreneur Tradesmen and Industrialists Businessmen Association
50. East Turkistan Human Rights Watch
51. East Turkistan New Generation Movement
52. East Turkistan Nuzugum Culture and Family Association
53. East Turkistan Sports and Development Association
54. East Turkistan Union in Europe
55. Eastern Turkistan Foundation
56. Engage Action
57. European East Turkistan Education Association
58. EXCUBITUSdhe
59. Family Research Council
60. Fédération Euro-méditerranéenne contre les disparitions Forcées
61. Federation for a Democratic China
62. Finnish Uyghur Culture Center
63. Frankfurt stands with Hongkong
64. Fundacion Aguaclara
65. GAYa NUSANTARA Foundation
66. Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities
67. Green Advocates International (Liberia)
68. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
69. Hebrew Congregation of Somers
70. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
71. Hirschfeld-Eddy-Stiftung
72. Hong Kong Committee in Norway
73. Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC)
74. Hong Kong Global Connect
75. Human Asia
76. Human Rights in China (HRIC)
77. Human Rights Watch
78. Human Trafficking Search
79. Humanitarian China 
80. Ilham Tohti Initiative
81. Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council
82. International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute 
83. International Campaign For Tibet
84. International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC)
85. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
86. International Pen Uyghur Center
87. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
88. International Society for Human Rights, Chapter Munich
89. International Support for Uyghurs
90. International Tibet Network
91. International Union of East Turkistan Organizations
92. International Uyghur Human Right and Democracy Foundation
93. IRPOO Siberia without torture
94. Isa Yusup Alptekin Foundation
95. Islamic Community Milli Gorus
96. Islamic Information & Services Foundation Malaysia
97. Japan Uyghur Association
98. Jewish Movement for Uyghur Freedom 
99. Jewish World Watch 
100. Judicial Reform Foundation
101. Justice For All
102. Justice for Uyghurs - Switzerland
103. Lady Lawyer Foundation
104. Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada 
105. Le Comité pour la Liberté à Hong-Kong
106. Liberty and Democracy Advocacy Club University of Calgary
107. Malaysia4Uyghur
108. Mamatjan Nayup 
109. Minaret Foundation
110. Minh Van Foundation
111. Minority Rights Group International (MRG)
112. Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
113. Mulmangcho
114. National Committee of Democratic Party of China
115. Netherlands for Hong Kong
116. No Business With Genocide
117. Northern California Hong Kong Club
118. Norwegian Uyghur Committee
119. Omer Uygur Foundation
120. Peace Catalyst International
121. People for Successful Corean Reunification (PSCORE)
122. People's Watch 
123. Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights)
124. Planet Ally
125. PROMEDEHUM
126. René Cassin, the Jewish voice for human rights
127. Safeguard Defenders
128. Satuq Bugrakhan Foundation of Science and Civilization
129. SAVE TIBET Austria
130. Silk Road Peace Project
131. Society for Threatened Peoples
132. Society Union of Uyghur National Association
133. Solidarité Chine, Paris
134. Solidarity Sisters Network of Liberia (SoSNoL)
135. Stepping Stones 
136. Stop Uyghur Genocide Australia 
137. Stop Uyghur Genocide Canada
138. Sweden Uyghur Education Union
139. Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association
140. Switzerland East Turkestan Association
141. The Community Human Rights Promotion and Protection Association - ACPDH 
142. The International Women's Alliance for Family Institution and Quality Education 
143. The Lesbian and Gay Association of Liberia (LEGAL)
144. The Rights Practice
145. Tibet Action Institute 
146. Tibet Justice Center
147. Tibet Solidarity
148. Tibet Support Group Ireland 
149. Tibetan Youth Association in Europe
150. Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG)
151. Uigur Society of the Kyrgyz Republic
152. Umer Uyghur Trust
153. Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam
154. United Council of Vietnamese Homeland and Overseas
155. United Macedonian Diaspora
156. Uyghur Academy
157. Uyghur Academy Australia
158. Uyghur Academy Canada
159. Uyghur Academy Europe
160. Uyghur Academy Foundation
161. Uyghur Academy Japan
162. Uyghur Academy USA
163. Uyghur American Association
164. Uyghur Association of Victoria, Australia 
165. Uyghur Center for Human Rights and Democracy
166. Uyghur Cultural and Education Union in Germany
167. Uyghur Education Union
168. Uyghur Human Rights Project
169. Uyghur Mosque
170. Uyghur Projects Foundation
171. Uyghur Refugee Relief Fund
172. Uyghur Research Institute
173. Uyghur Right’s Advocacy Project 
174. Uyghur Science and Civilization Research Foundation
175. Uyghur Support Group Netherlands
176. Uyghur Transitional Justice Database
177. Uyghur U.K. Association
178. Uyghur Youth Union in Kazakhstan
179. Uzbekistan Uyghur Culture Center
180. Victoria Uyghur Association
181. Viet Democratic Side's International Forum
182. Vietnam Helsinki Human Rights Committee
183. Vietnam Human Rights Day - May 11 Organization
184. Vietnam Human Rights Network
185. Vietnamese Nationalist Party
186. Visual Artists Guild
187. Witness Radio - Uganda
188. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
189. World Uyghur Congress
190. World Uyghur Congress Foundation
191. World Without Genocide
192. Young leadership for social change network