Xinjiang: Supporting victims and advancing the implementation of UN recommendations

The 57^th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC57) marks two years since the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a comprehensive report concluding that the mass arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and other Turkic ethnic groups in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, and widespread restrictions and deprivation of their fundamental rights, “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.” Two years on, despite recommendations from across the United Nations (UN) human rights system – including the OHCHR, Special Procedures, treaty bodies, and in the context of the Universal Periodic Review – hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and other Turkic people remain arbitrarily detained while the world’s attention has moved on to other crises. Meanwhile, the Chinese government is deploying what scholars have called an “authoritarian legality” system to legitimise human rights abuses by rendering lengthy sentences against the detained victims.

This event provides an opportunity to revisit the recommendations from and across the UN system, discuss strategies for their implementation, support victims and their families, and advance accountability for these grave crimes.

Speakers: 

• Priya Gopalan, Vice-Chair on Follow-Up and member for the Asia-Pacific region, UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
• John Fisher, Deputy Director for Global Advocacy, Human Rights Watch
• Rayhan Asat, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Strategic Litigation Project, Atlantic Council

Moderator:

• Raphaël Viana David, Programme Manager, China & Latin America, International Service for Human Rights