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IBAHRI to discuss persecution of Uyghurs

The human-rights abuses faced by the Uyghurs and other Turkic people in East Turkistan will be discussed at an IBA event in London on Wednesday (8 January).

Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, director of the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), will chair a discussion entitled ‘The Forgotten Genocide: China’s continuing suppression of the Uyghurs’.

Genocide

Also on the agenda is the lack of concrete action by the current British Government to end the ongoing genocide and abuses.

The event takes place at 5pm at the Palace of Westminster, House of Lords.

On 22 March 2021, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on certain Chinese officials and entities accused of human-rights abuses against Uyghurs, joining similar actions by the United States and the European Union.

On 22 April 2021, the British Parliament passed a motion declaring that China’s atrocities against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples constituted genocide.

Violations

Since then, however, the IBAHRI says that no steps have been taken to hold China accountable for its widespread violations of civil, political and human rights in East Turkistan, referred to as ‘Xinjiang’.

Instead, the current government has focused on rebuilding diplomatic relations and fostering cooperation with Beijing, the IBAHRI has said.

Speakers include:

• Baroness Helena Kennedy,
• Dr Sayragul Sauytbay of the East Turkistan Government- in-Exile; witness and whistleblower of China's concentration camps,
• Salih Hudayar, Foreign Minister of East Turkistan Government-in-Exile,
• Lara Strangways, head of Business and Human Rights, Global Rights Compliance,
• Rodney Dixon KC, Legal Counsel in application to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other cases.