On Thursday, 19 December MEPs urged China to close the camps and detention centres where more than one million Uyghurs are believed to be held and to release them.
In the joint resolution adopted by the S&D, ECR, Greens/EFA, Renew Europe and EPP groups on the situation of Uyghurs in China (the China Cables investigation), MEPs call for the release of all detainees “immediately and unconditionally”, including the 2019 Sakharov Prize winner Ilham Tohti (see EUROPE 12393/1), whom China has refused to confirm whether he is still alive.
The Chinese government must “without delay” put an end to the practice of arbitrary detentions, without charge, trial or conviction for a criminal offence, of members of the Uyghur and Kazakh minorities, add MEPs. “Any kind of detention, when applied in violation of fundamental international laws, as well as persecution of specific individuals or groups on ethnic, cultural or religious grounds (...) are unacceptable in the light of the international legal framework” the Parliament recalls.
MEPs are also concerned about the surveillance measures in place in Xinjiang, and reiterate their call on the Chinese authorities to allow free and unhindered access to this region for independent journalists and international observers.
The EU must act, say MEPs. Thus, stating that they were “deeply concerned” about “the possible use of forced labour in internment camps” they called on products manufactured in re-education camps - via forced labour - to be banned on EU markets. Actors from the private sector should assess their engagement in Xinjiang in order to scrutinise their supply chains to ensure they are not involved in human rights violations, MEPs add.
The Parliament also urges the Commission, the EU Council and Member States to take all necessary measures to convince the Chinese government to close the camps, to put an end to all human rights violations in Xinjiang and to preserve the linguistic, cultural, religious and other fundamental freedoms of the Uighurs. In their view, the EU High Representative, the European External Action Service and Member States need to monitor more closely the worrying human rights developments in Xinjiang. The High Representative must also insist that an independent investigation be carried out into the extent and nature of the internment camp system and the many allegations of serious and systematic human rights violations, MEPs add.
They also call on the EU, its Member States and the international community to consider ways of halting all exports and technology transfers of goods and services that are being used by China to extend and improve its cyber surveillance and predictive profiling apparatus.
See the resolution: http://bit.ly/2Q4LRlh (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)