A report released by Washington-based think tank Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy alleged on Tuesday that the Chinese government’s treatment of Uighurs has violated “each and every act” prohibited by the United Nations’ Genocide Convention.
The report provides an analysis of the legal responsibility Beijing could bear over its actions in the north-western Xinjiang region, where Uighur Muslims are the majority community.
Human Rights activists in the past had revealed about the state-sponsored violence over the Uighur Muslims. The Chinese government had built huge prison camps, but the state machinery calls it ‘re-education centres’. Around a million Uighurs are suspected to be living in such camps.
“Uighurs are suffering serious bodily and mental harm from systematic torture and cruel treatment, including rape, sexual abuse, exploitation, and public humiliation, at the hands of camp officials,” the report said.
“The persons and entities perpetrating the… acts of genocide are all state agents or organs – acting under the effective control of the State – manifesting intent to destroy the Uighurs as a group,” the report says.
China’s ruthless suppression of Uighurs has been acknowledged and condemned at various international forums.
