UHRP Hails Czech and Belgian Resolutions on Uyghur Genocide

Belgium Czech genocide

June 15, 2021, 11:33 a.m. EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact: Omer Kanat +1 (202) 790-1795, Louisa Greve +1 (571) 882-4825

The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) hails Czech and Belgian parliamentary recognition of atrocity crimes against the Uyghur people.

The Czech Senate voted unanimously on a motion recognizing  the Chinese government’s abuses as crimes against humanity and genocide, and called for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Olympic games. The Belgian Foreign Relations Committee approved a motion recognizing China’s actions as crimes against humanity and warned of a “serious risk” of genocide, calling for re-examination of policies ranging from extradition to investment.

“We thank our Czech and Belgian friends for standing up. We are gaining momentum,” said UHRP Executive Director Omer Kanat. “Seven countries have now recognized the Chinese government’s destruction of the Uyghur people as atrocity crimes. The Chinese government cannot succeed in escaping international condemnation, despite its constant propaganda and intensive diplomatic pressure on world governments.”

The Czech and Belgian votes follow genocide recognitions by the Canadian, UK, Dutch, and Lithuanian parliaments, in addition to the U.S. government determination. The Czech Republic is the 11th country to bring forward parliamentary initiatives concerning Beijing 2022. The others are Lithuania, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, Germany, the EU, the UK, and the US.

“Today the Belgian Parliament has raised a warning sign to the world,” said MP Samuel Cogolati, co-author of the resolution and also a co-chair of the cross-party Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. “There can be no further excuses for inaction. There can be no ‘business as usual’ with China while the Uyghur prison camps stay open. Belgium may be a small country, but we can send a clear message to the world that human rights standards should be upheld universally – for all people, everywhere.”

The Czech resolution, presented by Senator Pavel Fisher, who also serves as Co-Chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), called for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Olympics. “We cannot stay silent while the Chinese Government carries out the most brutal persecution of Uyghur, Tibetans and other groups … Any political leaders that accept invitations to these games risk tacitly condoning these abuses,” he said.

UHRP has published substantial evidence of atrocity crimes by the Chinese government, including mass arbitrary detention, the persecution of Uyghurs on racial and religious grounds, and enforced disappearances. The destruction of numerous Uyghur cultural sites and a systematic state program of forced and coercive labor have left no doubt about the shocking scale of the Chinese government’s ongoing crimes.

Read more:

UHRP welcomes finding of Chinese State violations under “each and every act” of the Genocide Convention, March 9, 2021

Beijing 2022 Olympics stakeholders must uphold human rights standards, April 15, 2021

Authoritative legal opinion concludes that treatment of Uyghurs amounts to crimes against humanity and genocide, February 8, 2021

UHRP urges worldwide action in the wake of genocide finding, January 19, 2021

50 genocide prevention organizations and experts call for UN Commission of Inquiry on crimes against humanity and genocide against Uyghurs, January 14, 2021

UHRP welcomes global action to address likely genocide, finally, July 8, 2020