MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Mass arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and Kazakhs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region

2.10.2018 - (2018/2863(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure

Helmut Scholz, Merja Kyllönen, Stefan Eck on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group

B8‑0466/2018

European Parliament resolution on Mass arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and Kazakhs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region#TXTTITLE@TITLE@#

(2018/2863(RSP))

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

 

-having regard to the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders of 1998,

 

-having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of 16 December 1966,

 

-having regard to recent European Parliament resolution on the state of EU-China relations of 12 September 2018,

 

-having regard to Article 36 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, which guarantees all citizens the right to freedom of religious belief and to Article 4 that upholds the rights of ‘minority nationalities’,

 

-having regard to Article 249 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China that criminalizes incitement to discrimination on the basis of nationality,

 

-having regard to OHCHR Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reviews the report of China of 13 August 2018,

 

-having regard to UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - Concluding observations on the combined fourteenth to seventeenth periodic reports of China (including Hong Kong, China and Macao, China) of 30 August 2018,

 

-having regard to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,

 

 

A.whereas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest of China is home to 23 million people from several ethnic groups, including around 11 million Uyghurs and around 1,5 million ethnic Kazakhs;

 

B.whereas Xinjiang has seen rapid economic growth in the past few years, with infrastructure projects bringing the region closer to the Central and Eastern regions of China being since three decades the engine for the overall socio-economic development of the country; whereas the Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes of Silk Road, has injected new impetus to Xinjiang's development; whereas strong industries, including chemicals, information technology, machinery manufacturing, and textiles are building up;

 

C.whereas by the end of 2016, the incidence of poverty in the region had dropped to 10 percent or less, according to a white paper issued by China's State Council Information Office;

D.whereas economic development in the region has been accompanied by large-scale immigration from other provinces and regions of China, in particular of Han Chinese constituting more than 60% out of the 50 peoples of the Chinese population; whereas the increased movement of citizens promoted and supported by the central and regional governments in favour of the immigrating citizens and designed prior to serve the general modernisation of the country, much less picking up traditional and todays visions of the domestic population the led to tensions and disparities between the people of different nationalities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; whereas therefore many Uyghurs are complaining of discrimination and marginalisation by the authorities resulting in an anti-Han and separatist sentiments;

 

E.whereas the government’s ongoing effort to economically develop the region and its policy of ethnic assimilation, has conflicted with the Uyghurs’ desire to preserve their culture, religion and language; whereas as result Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has been a central point of ethnic and other tensions for decades, including the emergence of separatist political movements; whereas the opposition to central and local government policies has been often expressed in non-parliamentarian forms, peaceful protests and demonstrations, but also through destabilising activities, incl. bombings and other unacceptable acts of violence;

 

F.whereas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has come to be known as one of the most heavily policed regions in China as well as in international comparison; whereas Chinese authorities justify their policies in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region by countering terrorism and separatist violence, including combating religious extremism of some ethnic minority groups;

 

G.whereas Southeast Asia is witnessing evolving security risks from Chinese Uyghurs’ involvement in militant activities in the region with transnational security implications for the region;

 

H. whereas the human rights situation in China has been constantly under national and international scrutiny following the Membership of the PRC to all relevant UN conventions and other international agreements on one side and the constitutional stated and legally taken obligations; whereas numerous reports suggest that human rights situation in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is deteriorating, with allegations coming from multiple sources, including activist groups such as Human Rights Watch, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, Amnesty International and UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination;

 

I. whereas reports claim mass detentions of ethnic Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities, with estimates that range from several hundred thousand to a million people that are being held in long-term detention in political re-education camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; whereas governmental representatives are denying these reports as falsifications and being part of country-strategies from abroad to harm the political and social-economic development of the PRC;   

 

J. whereas detention of large numbers of ethnic Uyghurs, Kazakhs and others is often arbitrary, without charges or trials, but under the pretext of countering terrorism and religious extremism;

 

K. whereas there is an urgent need to break the “violence-suppression-violence” cycle and to achieve long-lasting stability in Xinjiang in the interest of all people living today in Xinjiang Autonomous region and therefore the task to renew the democratic dialogue between all groups of inhabitants in the region on individual and collective interests and about perspectives for a peaceful living together while ensuring and guaranteeing minorities’ rights of self-determination;

 

 

1.Commends China for creating extraordinary prosperity and lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, including in the eight multi-ethnic provinces and regions, but remained concerned over the growing inequality, particularly for ethnic minorities who continued to disproportionally experience poverty; welcomes the new three-year poverty relief plan that would target counties in the Xinjiang prefectures of Kashgar, Hotan, Kizilsu and Aksu, and would look to lift 400,000 local people out of poverty this year;

 

2.Welcomes the efforts of the Chinese government to bridge the developmental gap between ethnic and other areas, including through the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan of Economic and Social Development 2016-2020;

 

 

3.Notes with concern the severe tensions in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; condemns any individuals or groups of individuals who advocate violence as a means to fulfil their objectives on behalf of the Uyghurs minority; in that respect, asks the Chinese authorities to investigate allegations of abuse and bring the offending parties to justice; however, remains deeply concerned about the racial discrimination in the context of laws fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism, particularly against Tibetans, Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities;

 

4.Expresses concern at China’s broad definition of terrorism and vague references to extremism and unclear definition of separatism in Chinese legislation; takes the view that this could be used against those peacefully exercising their rights and facilitate “criminal profiling” of ethnic and religious minorities, including Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Buddhist Tibetans and Mongolians;

 

5.Underlines the need to develop comprehensive counter-radicalisation and community engagement strategies, relying less on hard police and partly military as well as juridical power and concentrating much more on the establishment of democratic dialogue and the picking up of needs and concerns of the domestic Uyghur’s people into political parliamentarian and outer-parliamentarian conflict solving procedures, into trust building activities for developing equal partnership relations between different thinking and acting citizens and by that constructing a prosperous region being home for the Uyghur minority community in Xinjiang and others having chosen to live in such an autonomous region with full constitutional rights and obligations;

 

6.Recognizes China’s vigorous efforts to promote education among ethnic minorities, however raises concerns based on UN reports over political re-education camps where hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and ethnic Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities are being sent to for long periods, without being charged or tried;

 

7.Stresses that the detention of ethnic Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities at the political education detention centres are contrary to fundamental rights enshrined in the Chinese Constitution and violate international law on human rights;

 

8.Calls to stop the practice of all arbitrary detentions without lawful charges, trials or convictions and for the immediate release of all individuals currently detained under these circumstances;

 

9.Expresses its concern with the reported cases of mistreatment and torture of individuals in detention camps;

 

10.Underlines the importance of undertaking prompt, thorough, transparent and impartial investigations into all allegations related to racial, ethnic and ethno-religious profiling; demands that the freedoms of expression, association and religion of the Kazakhs and Uyghurs are fully respected;

 

11.Calls on the Chinese authorities to be committed in ensuring the fundamental freedoms of all Chinese citizens in accordance with the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international instruments signed or ratified by China; calls on Chinese government to finally ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which prohibits arbitrary detention of individuals;

 

12.Reiterates the importance of the further building up trustful, good EU-China relations, based on cooperation and partnership, recognizing mutual interests and political strategies benefitting the sustainable social, ecological and economic development of their societies in full recognition of the individual interests of citizens as well aiming at meaningful and open human rights dialogue based on a mutual respect;

 

13.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, and the Government and the Parliament of the People’s Republic of China.