Since 2017, the government of China has carried out massive and systematic abuses against Muslims living in Xinjiang, under the guise of what they claim to be “terrorism” and “religious extremism”. Huge numbers of men and women from predominantly Muslim ethnic groups have been arbitrarily detained and sent to internment camps or prison. Pervasive surveillance prevented those living there from sharing information about human rights violations.
The government implemented far-reaching policies that severely restricted the freedoms of Uyghurs, Kazakhs and those from other predominantly Muslim ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang, which threatened to erase their religious and cultural identities.
Key Issues
During their visit to the region in May 2022, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and her team were not permitted to visit detainees or their families and were accompanied by state officials at all times. Having failed to acknowledge the serious human rights violations in the country during the mission, in August OHCHR released a long-awaited report reinforcing previous findings by Amnesty International and others that the extent of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of Uyghurs and others in Xinjiang may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity. It also documented allegations of torture or other ill-treatment, incidents of sexual and gender-based violence, forced labor and enforced disappearances, among other grave human rights violations.
The Chinese government sought to suppress the report, including by mobilizing other governments to lobby against its publication. Despite the findings, and calls by dozens of UN independent experts for the UN Human Rights Council to convene a special session on China, on October 6, 2022 the Council voted to reject a resolution to hold a debate on Xinjiang at its next session.
In November 2022, the CERD Committee called on the Chinese government to immediately investigate all allegations of human rights violations and release all individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in Xinjiang. Despite government claims that internment camps they called “training” or “education” centers had been closed, many thousands of men and women were still believed to be arbitrarily detained in internment camps, prisons or other facilities where political indoctrination, physical and psychological torture and other forms of ill-treatment were widely reported.
Revisions to religious regulations took effect in February 2024, further limiting freedom of religion and belief. The amendments to the Xinjiang Religious Affairs Regulations and statements by the Xinjiang Party Secretary emphasized the need for Islam to be “Sinicised”. This echoed previous statements by Chinese leaders, stressing “loyalty… above all else” to the Chinese Communist Party.
Many prominent Uyghur scholars and artists are serving long prison terms and deprived of communication with family members. They included well-known Uyghur intellectual Ilham Tohti who was sentenced to life imprisonment for “separatism” in 2014. There is no information about the status or whereabouts of ethnographer Rahile Dawut, who was reportedly sentenced to life imprisonment in 2023 for “endangering state security”.
“Like We Were Enemies in a War”: China’s Mass Internment, Torture, and Persecution of Muslims in Xinjiang
In 2021, Amnesty published a report based on first-hand testimonies gathered from former detainees of the internment camps and other people who were present in the Uyghur Region after 2017, as well as from an analysis of satellite imagery and data.
Hearts and Lives Broken: The nightmare of Uyghur families separated by repression
Uyghur parents studying or making a living abroad are living a recurring nightmare. China’s unprecedented crackdown on ethnic populations in Xinjiang led to horrific impact on the lives of their children and the family members who care for the minors.
Nowhere feels safe: Uyghurs tell of China-led intimidation campaign abroad
In 2018-19, Amnesty International collated information from Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Uzbeks and members of other ethnic groups living in 22 countries across five continents. Its findings reveal the harassment orchestrated by Chinese embassies and consulates abroad and the fear being experienced by these communities on a daily basis.
Relevant Links
- TAKE ACTION: Help bring Ekpar home – A decade of detention and health concerns
- TAKE ACTION: Release detained academics, writers and publishers
- TAKE ACTION: Show Your Solidarity with the Relatives of Xinjiang Detainees
- Urgent Action: Health Concerns For Uyghur Detained For Decade
- Ten years stolen: sister of detained Uyghur entrepreneur Ekpar Asat
- China: Uyghur student released after serving sentence: Kamile Wayit
- China: Still no accountability for crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, three years after major UN report
- Thailand: ‘Deportation’ of Uyghurs to China ‘unimaginably cruel’
- Urgent Action: Health concerns for jailed Uyghur musician – Yashar
- China: World leaders must act to end decade of injustice for jailed Uyghur academic