Während Punkt 3 der 49. UN Menschenratssitzung rief WUC Program and Advocacy Manager Zumretay Arkin die Hohe Kommissarin der Vereinten Nationen für Menschenrechte Michelle Bachelet, dazu auf ihren Bericht über die Menschenrechtssituation in der uigurischen Region zu veröffentlicheb und forderte von Sonderberichterstatterin zur Förderung und den Schutz der Menschenrechte und Grundfreiheiten bei der Bekämpfung des Terrorismus, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, an dem bevorstehenden Besuch in der Region teilzunehmen.

Mr. President,

I am speaking on behalf of the Society for Threatened Peoples.

We welcome the announcement of the High Commissioner about the upcoming visit to the Uyghur Region. However, we remain highly concerned about the lack of transparency around such a visit. 

The myriad of severe human rights violations in the region has been raised on so many occasions by members states, UN special procedures, treaty bodies, and civil society organisations. 

Survivors, now living abroad have shared their stories of brutal oppression and violence they have faced, particularly women who have been victims of sexual and gender-based violence inside and outside the camps.

As an Uyghur human rights defender, I am worried about my own relatives, with whom I have lost communication since 2017. What crimes have our family members committed?

In this context, we wish to see the High Commissioner engage with the Uyghur community and civil society ahead of her visit, and listen to our demands. This visit can only be credible if it is complemented with an independent assessment of the situation. 

We, therefore, urge the High Commissioner to publish her report on the human rights situation in the Uyghur Region, and call on the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism to join the upcoming visit to the region. 

Thank you.