Defence & Diplomacy
The International Community's Response to China's Human Rights Abuses in Xinjiang by
Nicola Hope and Anonymous
As China becomes a major global power, renewed attention has been placed on Beijing’s status as a rule-abiding member of the international community. In particular, ‘re-education camps’ for Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province have led to growing concerns over Chinese adherence to internationally established human rights norms.1
them to engage with sanctions and boycotts. These policies additionally call for the re-enforcement of past UN procedures that addressed crimes against humanity and genocide, such as The Responsibility to Protect (R2P 2005), and also plead for the united condemnation of Chinese human rights abuses among Muslim-majority countries.
Thus far, the international community has only taken limited measures to uphold justice in the region. The task of countenancing China's rise with established global norms of human rights is complex: Any action taken will not only be condemned and denied by the Chinese government, but also by its allies and partners.
BACKGROUND
The policies suggested in this paper are written from the perspective of the international community and its leaders. It focuses on shifting the narrative on China’s activities in Xinjiang, and rallying the support of other states by encouraging
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Since 2017, the Chinese government has claimed that centres constructed in the Uyghur-majority Xinjiang region are voluntary re-education facilities for Muslims, seeking to ‘transform’ participants’ ways of thinking and prevent religious extremism.2 However, leaked documents released to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists through a chain of exiled Uyghurs have shown that these centres operate in a high security and strict discipline-manner. Like prisons, these facilities forbid escape and have an incorporated
