For the first time, the UK House of Commons has declared that a genocide is taking place against the Uyghur Muslims and others in the northwest region of China.
The Motion
British MPs have unanimously approved a parliamentary motion denouncing China’s treatment of Uyghurs, stating that there is in fact genocide against the people group. With more than a million people estimated to have been detained at camps in the region of Xinjiang, pressure has been growing on Boris Johnson’s government to adopt a tougher stance against the region.
Conservative MP Nusrat Ghani put forward the non-binding motion, which was approved by the House of Commons after a three-hour debate. This motion states that the Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in China’s western Xinjiang region were suffering crimes against humanity and calls upon the Chinese government to fulfil its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.
Not that the UK government is not obligated or compelled to take action, it is however a sign of Parliament’s growing discontent towards the Chinese government’s actions or lack thereof.
Foreign Office minister Nigel Adams stated that the UK government has acknowledged the “strength of feeling” on the Uyghur crisis and this stance is important as the UK has a “history of protecting global human rights”. The vote for the motion was deemed historic, placing the UK Parliament in line with Holland, Canada and the United States of America.
Nusrat Ghani’s Stance
At the debate, Ghani stated that genocide meant intent to “destroy in whole or in part” a national, ethnic, racial or religious group and concluded that, as far as she can analyse, “all five criteria of genocide are evidenced as taking place in Xinjiang”. She continued that detainees in the camps were subject to brutal torture methods, which included electric shocks, whips and beatings with metal prods.
In addition, women in the Uyghur region were being forcefully fitted with birth control devices. Chinese government’s data is evidence of this particular torture. It shows that in 2014, over 200,000 birth control devices were inserted in women in Xinjiang and by 2018, this figure had increased by 60%.
China’s Response
Zhao Lijian, China’s ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson, has condemned the UK Parliament’s decision claiming the statements made were a “preposterous lie” by “anti-China forces” and went on to urge UK parliamentarians to “mind their own business”.
China has stated that the UK should avoid blatant interference in China’s internal affairs and that it is an insult to the country that the British MPs are referring to the situation in Xinjiang as a ‘genocide’.
International Response to China’s Actions
Stephen Kinnock of the UK Labour party argued that the party supports the motion as genocide should never be met with indifference or inaction. Casting aside the things that are happening against the Uyghur people can likely lead to a situation similar to Nazi Germany and the Rwandan genocide.
In addition, the Conservative party MPs have argued that although Parliament’s motion is non-binding, it is satisfactory in sending a clear message that the international community is united in its condemnation of the action’s taking place in China.
In February, the Canadian and Dutch parliaments also passed similar motions that described China’s actions in Xinjiang as genocide. In March, the US state department followed suit and accused China of committing crimes against humanity to the people groups in the region.
Ghani stated, “China’s attempt to intimidate parliament into silence has backfired. The elected House has spoken and chose to stand shoulder to shoulder with our international allies, the Uyghur people, and all those who have been sanctioned”. Additionally, UK Foreign Office Minister Nigel Adams concluded that passing this motion was adding pressure on Beijing through the United Nations.
China continues to deny allegations of rights abuses in the country and argues that the camps that detain Uyghur persons are tools to fight terrorism.
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