Independent tribunal says China committed genocide with acts against Uyghurs

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- An independent investigative British-based tribunal said in a report Thursday that China has committed genocide against the Muslim-minority Uyghur population and other ethnic minorities in the western part of the Asian nation.

The Uyghur Tribunal said in its 63-page report that Beijing subjected the Uyghur people to "unconscionable cruelty" and crimes against humanity. The actions amounted to genocide, it concluded.

U.S. and Western officials have said as many as 2 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in China's Xinjiang province have been placed in a network of detention centers and while in custody there, they have been subjected to forced labor, torture and sexual abuse. Many have been detained without justification, they note.

Thursday's report faults top Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping, for the humanitarian crisis.

Activists march in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019, to condemn China for its treatment of the Uyghur people. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI

"The intent to destroy the Uyghurs as a group is derived from objective proof, consisting of comprehensive state policy and practice ... which President Xi Jinping, the highest authority in China, set in motion," the report states.

"This is the Judgment of the Uyghur Tribunal, a people's tribunal, formed to consider allegations that the People's Republic of China has committed genocide, crimes against humanity and torture against Uyghur, Kazakh and other ethnic minority citizens in the north west region of China known as ... the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region."

Advocates say that China's treatment of Uyghurs has resulted in a long-term reduction of their population by limiting births.

The tribunal, which has no legal enforcement authority, was formed last year to investigate Beijing's role in the crisis.

China dismissed the report's findings, saying that the tribunal was politically motivated to discredit the country and soil its human rights record. It's China's record on issues like this that fueled diplomatic boycotts of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing by the United States and multiple ally nations.

The tribunal is comprised of attorneys, academics and members of the business community, and was founded in 2020 by British barrister and international human rights lawyer Geoffrey Nice. He was among several British persons sanctioned by the Chinese government over activism related to the purported violations in Xinjiang.

Both the United States and Amnesty International have also declared China's treatment of Uyghurs as genocide.