On International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, UHRP Renews Call to Action for Uyghur Victims

For immediate release

August 21, 2022, 10:00 a.m. EDT

Contact: Omer Kanat, +1 (202) 790-1795

On the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) highlights Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples who have been persecuted by the Chinese government because of their faith and calls on the international community to demand accountability.

Over several research reports, UHRP has documented the Chinese government’s campaign against Uyghur religious belief and expression. UHRP research has revealed the persecution of Uyghur women, büwi, who study and teach the Quran, the mass detention and disappearance of imams and other religious figures, and the systematic demolition and desecration of mosques and shrines across East Turkistan. Since at least 2013, UHRP evidence has shown a coordinated effort to erase Uyghur religious identity.

China’s campaign targeting Uyghur religious belief and identity has been written into national law. The Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, in effect since July 1 of this year, obligates schools, religious institutions, government bodies, and families to advance the Chinese Communist Party’s vision of “ethnic unity” and to continue the forced “Sinicization” of religion. What were once regional policies enforced through intimidation are now codified as legal obligations, making religious repression harder to challenge and easier to extend.

“For years, UHRP has documented the destruction of Uyghur religious life. Now Beijing has written that destruction into the law of the land,” said Omer Kanat, UHRP Executive Director. “Uyghurs cannot practice their faith freely, even at home, and under this law, they are told their religion must serve the Party or not exist at all. The law contravenes international standards of religious freedom and it demands an international response.”

UHRP calls on governments, multilateral bodies, and civil society to raise the cases of Uyghur victims of religious persecution, such as Ekber Memet, imprisoned for “illegally” studying Islamic scripture. Concerned bodies should press for the repeal of the Ethnic Unity Law and work to ensure that Uyghurs can practice their faith without fear of detention or reprisal.