Some 30 MEPs are calling for an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into crimes against humanity committed against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples. They sent a letter to ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan on 14 September.
China, accused of committing these crimes, is not a party to the Rome Statute, which created the ICC. However, a complaint was filed in 2020 regarding potential crimes committed by China on the territory of Tajikistan, which is party to the Rome Statute.
According to MEPs, Uyghur groups are being targeted outside China and forced to return. “Once they are in China they are never heard from again”, the MEPs write. They also refer to the report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), published on 31 August, which mentions crimes against humanity in Xinjiang (see EUROPE 13012/18).
The signatories come from all political groups in the European Parliament except for The Left.
See the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/346 (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)