The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) jointly with the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) have released their report on the conference held at the European Parliament, Brussels, on 29 February 2012, entitled ’50 Years After Test 596: China’s Nuclear Programme in East Turkestan and its Impacts Today’.
After an introduction to the events of 5 July 2009 in Urumqi that lead to an increased crackdown on Uyghur freedom of expression, an overview on the Chinese legislation on freedom of expression, a description of the use of “Endangering State Security” (ESS) charges to silence peaceful Uyghur dissent, the current condition of freedom of speech and information in East Turkestan and China, and the effects of the “Jasmine Revolution” on Uyghurs, the booklet provides summaries on the cases of some of the Uyghurs imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of expression, opinion, and speech. These cases include among others: Abdulghani Memetemin, Dilshat Perhat, Gheyret Niyaz, Gulmira Imin, Mehbube Ablesh, Memetjan Abdulla, Ablikim Abdureyim, Alim Abdureyim or Tursunjan Hesen.
The Uyghur people are indigenous to East Turkestan [also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in northwest China]. For many years, the Chinese government has waged an intense and often brutal campaign to repress all forms of Uyghur dissent, crack down on Uyghurs’ peaceful religious activities and independent expressions of ethnicity, dilute Uyghurs’ culture and identity as a distinct people, and threaten the survival of the Uyghur language. The authorities have routinely equated Uyghurs’ peaceful political, religious, and cultural activities with the “three evils” – terrorism, separatism and religious extremism – and have couched their persecution of the Uyghurs as efforts to quash these “three evils.” The authorities have also economically marginalized the Uyghurs in East Turkestan through intense and blatant racial discrimination in employment.
The conference was sponsored by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Group of the European Parliament and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and was organised in collaboration with the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) and the World Uyghur Congress (WUC).
The conference concluded with a concerted call from Uyghurs for a meaningful dialogue to begin with Beijing over resolving the situation in East Turkestan and ensuring that provisions for the protection of minority rights in the Chinese constitution are observed.
The conference was sponsored by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Group of the European Parliament and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and was organised in collaboration with the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) and the World Uyghur Congress (WUC).
The conference concluded with a concerted call from Uyghurs for a meaningful dialogue to begin with Beijing over resolving the situation in East Turkestan and ensuring that provisions for the protection of minority rights in the Chinese constitution are observed.
On 13 November 2009, the UNPO and the WUC published a report entitled “Repression in China: Roots and Repercussions of the Urumqi Unrest”.
The report outlines the events that took place in Shaoguan and Urumqi this summer in which hundreds of people were killed. It also issues a series of recommendations for future action to assuage the resentment and mistrust that has been allowed to develop in East Turkestan over the past five decades as a result of policies pursued by the Chinese government.
Submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by the World Uyghur Congress for consideration in the 75th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) 3 August – 28 August 2009.
This submission provides evidence to assist in the Committee’s responsibility to monitor the progress of State parties towards the full and complete implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). ICERD describes the measures that State parties need to undertake to combat racial discrimination.
WUC — This report is the result of the “Uyghur Leadership Training Seminar” held from 18 – 19 May 2009 in Washington DC, US. The seminar was jointly organised by the WUC and the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), and funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
WUC — The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) has prepared this report in collaboration with the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) for the consideration by the Committee Against Torture (CAT) on the eve of their session on the fourth periodical report submitted to it by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in line with the provisions as laid down in the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (hereafter “the Convention”).