From November 7–9, WUC President Turgunjan Alawdun and UZDM President Dolkun Isa, together with WUC China Affairs Director Sawut Muhammed and Mr. Nurini, brother of Professor Tashpolat Tiyip, carried out a series of important advocacy activities in Japan.
The visit began with participation in the 5th Regional Congress on the Death Penalty in East Asia, where the delegation met with key international partners, including Mr. Soh Changrok (UN Human Rights Committee), Mr. Raphaël Chenuil-Hazan (Director General of ECPM), Dr. Ethan Hee-Seok Shin (UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention), and Ms. Isabelle Rome (Ambassador at Large for Human Rights, France). Discussions focused on strengthening global cooperation and advancing the shared call to abolish the death penalty.
On November 9, the delegation joined a special discussion on the case of Professor Tashpolat Tiyip, former President of Xinjiang University, sentenced to death by the Chinese authorities. President Alawdun and President Isa stressed the importance of international solidarity to protect Uyghur intellectuals, noting that since 2017, more than 400 Uyghur scholars and cultural figures have disappeared.
On November 11, the WUC delegation met with the Japan-Uyghur Parliamentary Friendship Group at the Japanese Parliament, chaired by Mr. Furuya and attended by over 30 MPs. The delegation expressed deep appreciation for Japan’s continued support and raised key requests:
① Ensuring the safety of relatives of naturalized Japanese Uyghurs and Uyghur scholars who studied in Japan;
② Banning imports tied to Uyghur forced labour;
③ Protecting Uyghur refugees abroad.
① Gewährleistung der Sicherheit von Angehörigen eingebürgerter japanischer Uiguren und uigurischer Wissenschaftler, die in Japan studiert haben;
② Verbot von Importen, die mit uigurischer Zwangsarbeit in Verbindung stehen;
③ Schutz uigurischer Flüchtlinge im Ausland.
During the meeting, Mr. Furuya announced plans to introduce a Japanese version of the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act, which would prohibit imports linked to forced labour in East Turkistan — marking a significant step toward aligning Japan’s policy with global human rights standards.