Argentine Court Orders Investigation Into The Uyghur Genocide

July 20, 2024 | Forbes | By Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab

On July 11, 2024, the Argentine Federal Court of Criminal Cassation handed down its decision in a case concerning the issue of Uyghur genocide ordering the Prosecutor to open an investigation. The decision follows a criminal complaint, originally filed in August 2022, by three non-governmental organizations including the World Uyghur Congress, the Uyghur Human Rights Project and Lawyers for Uyghur Rights, setting out the international crimes committed against the Uyghur and other Turkic people in Xinjiang, China, and the identity of those most responsible for these crimes. The information submitted with the complaint contained evidence of forced labor, forced abortion and sterilization, torture, mass internment in camps, and killings. The complaint was initiated under the universal jurisdiction provision set out in Article 118 of the Argentine Constitution. It allows for complaints concerning international crimes (such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and torture) to be tried by any domestic court in Argentina, and independently from where the crimes are committed. This provision has previously been used to investigate international crimes committed against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela.

Read the full article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2024/07/20/argentine-court-orders-investigation-into-the-uyghur-genocide/