Uyghur Groups Submit Appeal to Argentina Court of Cassation to Open Case on Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide

Argentina-Case-Dec-2023

November 12, 2024 | 3:00 p.m. EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact: Omer Kanat +1 (202) 819-0598, Peter Irwin +1 (646) 906-7722

On November 6, 2024, a Uyghur universal jurisdiction case—initially filed in Argentina in 2022 by Lawyers for Uyghur Rights, the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), and the World Uyghur Congress (WUC)—took an additional step forward. The Argentina Court of Cassation cleared the way for new submissions on the criminal complaint regarding the international crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Omer Kanat, Executive Director of Washington based Uyghur Human Rights Project, and Dolkun Isa, former President of the World Uyghur Congress and a plaintiff in the criminal case, travelled to Argentina with international lawyer Michael Polak, in early November, to take the case forward.

The criminal complaint, in relation to the clear evidence of crimes against humanity and genocide against the Uyghur people by the Chinese government, was originally filed on August 16, 2022 at the Federal Criminal Court in Buenos Aires, under Argentina’s universal jurisdiction provisions of the Argentinian Constitution. These provisions allow complaints concerning international crimes to be tried by any court in Argentina, no matter where these offenses occur around the world. A number of cases are currently open in Argentina in relation to grave human rights breaches around the world.

On July 11, 2024, the Argentinian Federal Court of Criminal Cassation handed down its decision in relation to a criminal complaint, holding that the Court of Appeal of Buenos Aires had been wrong to agree with the Prosecutor’s decision to archive the complaint. The Court of Cassation ordered the Prosecutor to open an investigation.

Following this groundbreaking decision for the Uyghurs, the case was remitted to the Federal Court of Appeal to put into effect the Court of Cassation’s decision. However, the Court of Appeal refused to open a case, and therefore the Court of Cassation, who previously ruled in the plaintiff’s favor, has now been asked to rule again. The Court of Cassation, as well as having the power to give direction to the Courts below it, also has the power to open the investigation itself.

Michael Polak, International lawyer and chair of the group Lawyers for Uyghur Rights, stated the following:

“After the legally sound decision of the Court of Cassation in July 2024, where they considered the evidence and ordered the Federal Court of Appeal to open the case, we were very surprised when that Court decided not to do so. This case is a litmus test in relation to the objectivity of the Argentinian legal system and its impartiality in the application of the Argentinian Constitution.

We are hopeful that the Courts will live up to their duty to deliver a just decision and that this case will show that even large and powerful states cannot secure impunity through coercion. Argentina’s legal system leads in this area and this case will place the country on the right side of history in relation to the crimes against humanity and genocide taking place against the Uyghur people.

This case is not about a theoretical question. Right now, there are millions of Uyghurs in concentration camps facing torture, thousands of children ripped away from their parents because of their ethnicity, and women subject to forced abortions and sterilisation in an attempt to prevent the continuation of an ancient culture. The Court’s decision will mark the conscience of the Argentinian people and will be a clear message that this behavior by any state is unacceptable.”’

Mr. Omer Kanat, Executive Director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project stated:

“We are one step closer to accountability. It is very important for a court of law to hear the evidence directly from victims who have been suffering from this genocide.“

Mr. Dolkun Isa, immediate past president of the World Uyghur Congress and a plaintiff in the case stated:

“This is an important moment in history for Uyghurs, as we seek accountability for the crimes committed by the Chinese government. As a plaintiff, I have put my trust in the Argentinian legal system and hope to see a positive result.”

The organisations bringing this case are fundraising for the legal proceedings and donations can be made here: www.crowdjustice.com/case/uyghur-case-argentina

For comments on this case by the lawyers or the victim organizations please email contact@justiceabroad.co.uk or call +44 020 7936 3637 or +44 741 519 1591

Notes to Editors

  • In a similar case brought by Rohingya victims of the Burmese regime, the Prosecutor has requested arrest warrants from the Court for the arrest of high ranking military commanders. Currently, Argentina also has universal jurisdiction cases open in relation to crimes committed in Colombia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia.
  • The lawyers acting for the WUC and UHRP are international law barrister Michael Polak, who is chair of Lawyer for Uyghur Rights, Director of Justice Abroad, and a barrister at Church Court Chambers in London and esteemed Argentinian lawyers Gabriel Cavallo and Juan Nieto who have experience providing justice for the victims of international crimes before the Courts of Argentina.
  • The presiding judge of the Court of Cassation in this case is Judge Mahiques. He was the leading judge in relation to decision that Hezbollah and Iran were behind the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish centre in Buenos Aires.
  • In the July 11, 2024 decision ordering the Federal Court of Appeals to open the case Judge Mahiques stated the following:
  1. “The challenged decision [the decision of the Federal Court of Appeals] is legally arbitrary given the absence of sufficient foundation and a base of precise and reliable judicial information that justifies the archiving of the proceedings and the refusal to exercise universal jurisdiction. The issue involved in the complaint made by and on behalf of victims of crimes against humanity and genocide, and their willingness to resort to this jurisdiction to obtain justice, demand the maximum effort in obtaining the greatest, best and quickest combination of evidence that define the destination of the claim”.
  2. “The [appealed] ruling does not give reasons for the legal and political reasons why the priority guarantee of effective judicial protection of the victims would be restricted”.
  3. “The Argentine judicial system has the adequate, necessary and effective resources for the victims of these crimes to access jurisdiction not only to report their commission but also to achieve reparation for the damage suffered. And an appropriate way to guarantee their fundamental right to effective judicial protection is by allowing them the full exercise of the right to complain recognized in our domestic legislation”.

The Uyghurs

The Uyghurs are an ethnic Turkic group living in the Uyghur Autonomous Region who speak their own language, which is similar to Turkish, are mostly Muslim, and who see themselves as culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations and cultures.

There is overwhelming evidence that the Chinese authorities are committing crimes against humanity and genocide against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim Turkic ethnic groups, such as Uzbeks and Kazakhs in the north-western region. 

China has detained more than one million Uyghurs in a large network of what the state calls “re-education camps”, and has sentenced hundreds of thousands to arbitrary prison terms despite there being no evidence that they have committed any crimes. Forced labour is rampant and Uyghur women are being forcibly sterilised or subject to forced abortions. Former camp detainees have provided evidence that they were tortured and sexually abused and there is evidence that Uyghur children and being forcibly removed from their parents in a move to destroy their religious and cultural heritage.

In January 2021, the United States Department of State declared China’s actions as genocide and crimes against humanity. Legislatures in several countries have passed motions doing the same, including the House of Commons of Canada, the Dutch parliament, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, the Seimas of Lithuania, and the French National Assembly. Other parliaments, such as those in New Zealand, Belgium, and the Czech Republic condemned the Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghurs as “severe human rights abuses” or crimes against humanity. The Argentine Parliament is yet to consider the situation.

  • World Uyghur Congress

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is an international democratic organisation that represents the collective interest of the Uyghur people both in East Turkistan and abroad. The main objective of the WUC is to promote democracy, human rights and freedom for the Uyghur people and use peaceful, nonviolent, and democratic means to determine their political future.

  • Uyghur Human Rights Project

The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) promotes the rights of the Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim peoples in East Turkistan, through research-based advocacy. UHRP was founded in 2004 as a project of the Uyghur American Association and became an independent nonprofit organization in 2016. Omer Kanat is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project.

  • Michael Polak

Michael Polak is an international barrister based in London. He practises in international, criminal, and human rights law from Church Court Chambers. Michael is also a Director of Justice Abroad which helps people who need assistance dealing with legal proceedings overseas as well as working on human rights advocacy for groups and individuals. He is chair of the group Lawyers for Uyghur Rights and was awarded the International Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Award for 2021.