Xinjiang

UN Human Rights Expert Extends Chinese Government’s Impunity

A special rapporteur's unusual visit and her finding that sanctions have harmed the country ignores legions of evidence and analysis.

Jun. 17, 2024 Sophie Richardson

Irrefutable Evidence for Unspeakable Crimes? The Role of the Written Order in Proving and Denying Genocide

An explicit written order has not been -- nor should be -- necessary, whether for international justice or for collective memory.

May 13, 2024 Stefan Bakumenko

Uniting for Uyghurs at the United Nations

A statement from 50 nations suggests momentum despite a failed Human Rights Council vote. What the international community should do next.

Dec. 9, 2022 Rayhan Asat

Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet gives a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland. She is wearing a dark blue shirt with a pearl necklace and a blue and white backdrop of the world is behind her.

Crimes Against Humanity in Xinjiang: The UN (Finally) Weighs In

On her final day in office, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet issued a long-awaited report on the Chinese government’s actions in Xinjiang.…

Sep. 15, 2022 Martin S. Flaherty

Muslim Uyghurs hold pictures of their relatives detained in China during a press conference in Istanbul, on May 10, 2022. The signs behind them say "Close the Chinese Concentration Camps" and "Rescue Our Families From Camps." Turkey's Uyghur community urged UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet to probe so-called "re-education camps" during a long-delayed visit to China that month, including to Xingjiang, where Western lawmakers have accused Beijing of genocide and crimes against humanity. Bachelet subsequently released her report on Aug. 31. (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

A UN Report Implicates the Chinese Government in Crimes Against Humanity. What Comes Next?

Governments and UN bodies must act swiftly to hold the Chinese government accountable and protect those who are speaking out.

Sep. 8, 2022 Sophie Richardson

The Biden Administration’s China Policy: An Inventory of Actions to Address the Challenge

An overview shows a hardline approach partially inherited from Trump merged with an emphasis on working with allies and partners.

Jul. 8, 2022 Philip Mousavizadeh

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in Buenos Aires, on November 30, 2018. - Global leaders gather in the Argentine capital for a two-day G20 summit beginning on Friday likely to be dominated by simmering international tensions over trade.

Embracing Autocrats to Help Ukraine Is a Losing Proposition

Downplaying human rights in the name of building an alliance to oppose Russia’s invasion risks strengthening the global autocratic threat of which the Ukraine conflict is only…

Mar. 25, 2022 Kenneth Roth

Protesters hold up placards and banners as they attend a demonstration in Sydney on June 23, 2021 to call on the Australian government to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over China's human rights record. Signs read, “Boycott Beijing 2022” and “End the Uyghur Genocide”

Boycotting Beijing 2022: Accountability for the Next Olympics and Beyond

History has shown the dangers of allowing repressive regimes to gain legitimacy by hosting the Olympics. China should be held accountable.

Aug. 23, 2021 David M. Crane, Yonah Diamond and 1 more

A facility believed to be a re-education camp where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained, north of Akto in China's northwestern Xinjiang region.

Policy Options in Response to Crimes Against Humanity and Potential Genocide in Xinjiang

The international community can unite in myriad ways to end the stunningly sweeping abuses China is committing against Uyghurs.

Aug. 25, 2020 Beth Van Schaack

This photo taken on May 31, 2019 shows Uighur women praying in a graveyard on the outskirts of Hotan in China's northwest Xinjiang region.

How China is Violating Human Rights Treaties and its own Constitution in Xinjiang

China’s “Strike Hard” campaign against Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, ... questionably framed by the Chinese government as a counterterrorism operation,…

Aug. 19, 2020 Giavanna O'Connell

Protesters from the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement (ETNAM) hold a demonstration in front of the World Bank's Headquarters in Washington DC, on December 20, 2019, to protest the World Banks $50 Million Funding of Chinese Vocational Training Centers where Uyghurs are being held involuntarily.

U.S. and Multilateral Policy Options to Address Abuses Against Uyghurs in Xinjiang

(Editor’s Note: This is the second of two articles discussing human rights violations against China’s Uyghur population. The first article, by Lisa Reinsberg, discusses the…

Jul. 30, 2020 Connor O'Steen

A Uyghur woman holds a child in her home as they prepare food during the Corban Festival on September 12, 2016 in Turpan County, in the far western Xinjiang province, China.

China’s Forced Sterilization of Uyghur Women Violates Clear International Law

As new evidence emerges of the Chinese government’s forcible sterilization of Uyghur women, communities around the world are sure to recognize elements of a familiar pattern.

Jul. 29, 2020 Lisa Reinsberg