This is an unfolding situation. We describe what has been documented, by whom and when.

Uyghurs: mass detention and cultural continuity

Detention programme since 2017; UN assessment in 2022

Detention, coercive labour, surveillance and restrictions on cultural and religious life were documented by journalists and the UN human rights office.

The pressures

The UN human rights office assessment of 31 August 2022 concluded that arbitrary and discriminatory detention may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity. China rejected the assessment. Its Geneva mission said it ran counter to OHCHR's mandate and described actions in Xinjiang as lawful measures against terrorism and extremism. UNRIC reported China's denial of forced labour. These responses are attributed to the mission statement and UNRIC, not a first-hand reading of the image-only state-response PDF.

Pushed out

Birth rates fell by more than 60% in Hotan and Kashgar between 2015 and 2018 (Associated Press, 2020).

Associated Press, Birth Rate Investigation (2020).

Written out

The retained account described restrictions on language and religious practice and damage to religious buildings.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Cultural Erasure Report (2020); OHCHR, 31 August 2022.

Squeezed out

OHCHR identified elements of coercion and indications of forced labour in employment schemes, rather than making an unqualified finding about every programme. Paragraph references 120, 123 and 128 came from CHRD's reading of the assessment.

OHCHR assessment (31 August 2022), labour section, as discussed by Chinese Human Rights Defenders (1 September 2022); paragraph references are secondary.

Worn down

Digital surveillance, checkpoints and detention restricted daily life.

ICIJ, China Cables (2019); Xinjiang Police Files (2022).

Silenced

Ilham Tohti was sentenced to life imprisonment for separatism on 23 September 2014. Rahile Dawut was tried in December 2018 and given a life sentence for splittism, confirmed by Dui Hua in September 2023. OHCHR referred generally to imprisoned scholars, artists and intellectuals; it was not the source for these named cases.

CPJ (23 September 2014); HRW (22 September 2023); Dui Hua Foundation (4 October 2023); OHCHR (31 August 2022), para 65.

What people are doing

  • The independent, unofficial Uyghur Tribunal in London, chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice KC, delivered its judgment on 9 December 2021, amended on 10 January 2022. Its findings were the tribunal's, not a binding court judgment.
  • The independent, crowd-sourced Xinjiang Victims Database launched in September 2018 and recorded individuals detained since January 2017.

How to help, safely

How to help safely: give through established humanitarian organisations already working there, and check their registration (in the UK, on the Charity Commission register). Share information only from named, verified sources. Never share photos, names or locations that could identify people on the ground.

Sources

Sources: OHCHR (31 August 2022), UNRIC (1 September 2022), CHRD (1 September 2022), China's mission statement republished by Ghana News Agency (2 September 2022), CPJ (2014), HRW and Dui Hua (2023), the Uyghur Tribunal and Xinjiang Victims Database. Labour paragraph numbers were checked through a secondary source. Unsupported imams, teaching and supply-chain campaign claims are withheld.