What is happening to Uyghurs? 

In 2021 British MPs voted to declare that what is being done to Uyghur people by Chinese officials amounts to Genocide. The United States and several other nations have made similar declarations.  

Uyghurs are suffering appalling crimes ranging from forced sterilisation; rapes; mass internment in concentration camps where they are faced with torture and starvation; family separation; slave-like labour conditions; as well as cultural persecution including being forced to give up their religious beliefs, which includes reports of Uyghurs being forced to eat pork during the holy month of Ramadan. 

We are therefore raising funds to cover the investigation, evidence-gathering, and legal costs of taking this case to the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

The Case So Far 

In July 2020, a team of lawyers led by Rodney Dixon KC submitted a complaint to the ICC Prosecutor on behalf of all Uyghur victims asking the ICC to open an investigation into the matter. In December 2020, the Prosecutor’s Office asked for more evidence of specific crimes. 

A second submission was filed on June 10 2021, alleging that Chinese authorities are rounding up and forcefully deporting Uyghurs from Tajikistan, an ICC State Party, into China. This second dossier provided information on the two main methods used to bring Uyghurs back into China – through exploiting family ties from relatives in China and through the use of Chinese operatives working directly within Tajikistan.  

On November 11 2021, a third dossier of evidence was submitted to the ICC. This exposed the extent of Chinese involvement within Tajikistan to pursue Uyghurs and have them deported, abducted, and disappeared. It further underlined that these unlawful acts are the first crucial steps in the alleged genocide and crimes against humanity that continue and are completed in China. The evidence shows that the Uyghur population in countries like Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan has declined dramatically since 2017: in Tajikistan the Uyghur population decreased by over 85% and in Kyrgyzstan by 87%.  

Legal Basis at the ICC 

Opening an investigation at the ICC is the only way of investigating and prosecuting at the international level those responsible for the crimes being committed against the Uyghurs. The ICC has jurisdiction in the Uyghur case because, although China is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, Uyghurs have been targeted and arrested in ICC States Parties and forcibly taken into China and persecuted or have disappeared, or have been coerced out of China into ICC States Parties. 

Next Steps at the ICC 

If the Prosecutor’s Office decides to open an investigation, they will first apply to the ICC Judges to proceed, and if such permission is granted, then collect evidence from victims and witnesses throughout the world. Once the Prosecutor considers that he has sufficient evidence that individuals are responsible for crimes in the Court's jurisdiction, the Office can request the Judges to issue warrants of arrest so that prosecutions can commence. 

Temple Garden Chambers is leading on the Uyghur legal campaign representing Uyghurs and Turkic communities. The legal funds raised will support these efforts.
 

Thank you in advance for any donations you can give, this will help us to hold China accountable for its crimes and seek justice for all Uyghurs.