The Uyghurs are a Turkic-speaking Muslim group in the East Turkestan/Xinjiang province of China. They are a persecuted minority because of their faith and ethnic identity. Since 2017, reports of re-education camps in the region and Uyghur people disappearing have emerged. 

It is estimated that 3 million are currently incarcerated. In camps, Uyghur Muslims cannot grow beards or pray and are forced to eat pork. All part of the Chinese government’s plan to erase Uyghur culture from the region and impose Han culture. 

Uyghur women make up about a quarter of those in ‘re-education’ camps. Uyghur women are discriminated against based on their ethnicity and their gender. They are often subject to torture, forced sterilisation and abortion, sexual humiliation and rape. 

A 2020 report by ASPI (Australian Strategic Policy Institute) estimates that more than 80,000 Uyghurs have been transferred from Xinjiang to factories across China where they are subject to conditions that strongly  suggest forced labour between 2017-2019. 

Listen to our student activists speak about why they care about the plight of the Uyghurs

To find out more, click the link to read René Cassin’s briefing paper. 

For the latest news on the Uyghurs, the genocide, and activist progress, check out the Uyghur Human Rights Project’s news page.

Whilst speaking about the Uyghur genocide is vital, many of us are also not well acquainted with Uyghur culture.  Early this year UJS held an online discussion with Uyghur students studying in the UK to gain insight into Uyghur identity and culture. Click here to watch! 

To gain a deeper insight into the reality behind the facts and figures and to hear from a leading activist in the fight for Uyghur freedom, come to our event held in conjunction with René Cassin’s CEO and their student ambassadors!