December 9 marks Uyghur Genocide Remembrance Day. On this day in 2021 the Uyghur Tribunal passed its landmark judgement, which has played a pivotal role in highlighting human rights abuses against the Uyghur and Turkic population. The tribunal’s findings concluded that the Chinese government’s atrocities against the Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan constitute genocide and crimes against humanity.
The judgement contributed significantly to the growing awareness and efforts aimed at addressing the atrocities committed against the Uyghurs and is crucial for the creation of broader awareness, acknowledgment and action by the international community. As a response to this crisis, and as of November 2023, eleven parliaments (Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Parliament) and one government (U.S.) have officially recognised the crimes committed against Uyghurs as genocide and/or crimes against humanity. More so, the historic assessment by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) concluded that the ongoing atrocities and human rights abuses in East Turkistan, particularly the “arbitrary and discriminatory detention” of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples, within the context of other restrictions “may amount to international crimes, in particular, crimes against humanity”. read more