Uyghur leaders urge action 10 years after mass detentions
Gathering in Berlin, Uyghur activists and allies will press governments to move beyond condemnation and pursue accountability for abuses they say have gone unpunished
BERLIN, Germany (MNTV) — Uyghur activists, lawmakers and rights advocates will gather in Berlin on Thursday to demand stronger international action over a decade of unpunished atrocities against Uyghurs in East Turkistan, known internationally as China’s Xinjiang region.
The forum comes 10 years after reports first emerged of the mass detention of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities, a campaign that has drawn accusations of crimes against humanity and genocide but, activists say, little meaningful accountability for Beijing.
More than 200 participants from around the world are expected to attend the Third International Uyghur Forum, organized by the World Uyghur Congress and the Uyghur Center for Democracy and Human Rights with support from the Uyghur Friendship Group in the German parliament. The three-day meeting, running from June 11 to 13, will focus on turning years of documentation and condemnation into concrete action.
Organizers say international awareness of the plight of Uyghurs has grown significantly over the past decade, with human rights groups, independent researchers and several governments concluding that China’s policies amount to crimes against humanity, while some countries have gone further by describing them as genocide. Yet they argue that tangible consequences for Beijing have remained limited.
“Recognition alone is not enough,” World Uyghur Congress President Turgunjan Alawdun said in a statement announcing the forum, adding that discussions would focus on identifying practical pathways toward accountability.
Panels and roundtable discussions are expected to examine issues ranging from forced labor enforcement and transnational repression to the protection of Uyghur refugees and the use of international legal mechanisms to pursue justice. Organizers also plan to present new research on developments in the East Turkistan.
Dolkun Isa, president of the Uyghur Center for Democracy and Human Rights, said the gathering comes at a time when authoritarian governments are increasingly cooperating across borders, making international solidarity among human rights defenders more important than ever.
The Uyghur issue has drawn sustained global attention in recent years. Rights groups and researchers have documented allegations of mass detention, intrusive surveillance, restrictions on religious practices, family separations and coercive labor programs affecting Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.
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