MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Mass arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and Kazakhs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
2.10.2018 - (2018/2863(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Ignazio Corrao, Fabio Massimo Castaldo on behalf of the EFDD Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0460/2018
B8‑0463/2018
European Parliament resolution on Mass arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and Kazakhs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
The European Parliament,
-having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,
-having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966,
-having regard to the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
-having regard to the concluding observations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination’s Review of China, published on 30 August 2018,
-having regard to the inaugural address by the newly appointed UN High Commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, to the 39th session of the UN Human Rights Council,
-having regard to the letter of General Allegation sent to the Chinese government by the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances in May 2018,
-having regard to EU Statement – Item 4 issued at the 38th session of the UN Human Rights Council on 6 July 2018 entitled ‘Human rights situation that require the Council’s attention’,
-having regard to EU Statement – Item 4 issued at the 39th session of the UN Human Rights Council on 18 September 2018 entitled ‘Human rights situation that require the Council’s attention’,
-having regard to the 20th EU-China Summit, which took place in Beijing on 16 July 2018,
-having regard to the Council conclusions of 18 July 2016 on EU Strategy on China,
-having regard to the 36th round of the EU-China human rights dialogue held from 9-10 July 2018 in Beijing, and all previous rounds of the dialogue,
-having regard to temporary bans enacted in Germany and Sweden on deporting any Uyghur refugees or asylum seekers to China, in recognition of the significant risk of persecution due to their ethnicity and the current situation in XUAR,
-having regards to the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, and in particular Article 36, Article 37 and Article 40,
-having regard to the body of reports published by academics, to the significant proofs collected by major press, including the New York Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the BBC, the AFP and Reuters,
-having regard to credible and extensive reports on the mass arbitrary detention of Uyghurs in internment camps published by reputable NGOs, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International,
-having regard to its previous resolutions on China, in particular those of 26 November 2009 on China, minority rights and the application of the death penalty, of 14 March 2013 on EU-China relations, of 10 March 2011 on the situation and cultural heritage in Kashgar (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) and of 15 December 2016 on the cases of the Larung Gar Tibetan Buddhist Academy and Ilham Tohti,
-having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A.whereas, it is estimated that1 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic minorities are being arbitrarily detained in a system of internment camps;
B.whereas political and religious activists and their relatives, as well as people entertaining relations with people abroad have been targeted in particular for detention;
C.whereas detainees have not been charged with any crime, and are arbitrarily detained, in a situation of lack of any basic right;
D.whereas China has not acknowledged the existence of the camps; whereas there is no public record of those who are detained and detainees are preventing from any communication with anyone outside the camps;
E.whereas Uyghur diaspora groups have reported losing all contact with family members and friends living in XUAR from April 2017;
F.whereas cases of reprisals against the family and friends of Uyghur and Kazakh activists, journalists and witnesses to the camps have been documented;
G.whereas a number of deaths in unclear circumstances of individuals detained in the camps have been reported;
H.whereas testimony from former detainees in the camps, especially those of Omer Bekali and Sayragul Sauytbay have detailed the political indoctrination, poor conditions, torture and the arbitrary nature of detention;
I.whereas the system of ‘re-education camps’ was cited as an issue of particular concern that was raised in the 36th round of the EU-China human rights dialogue, mentioned in an EEAS press release on 10 July 2018 and by by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, at the EP plenary session on 11 September 2018,
J.whereas Uyghur academics, religious leaders, business men, community leaders and other prominent figures in the Uyghur community have been targeted for arbitrary detention in the camps;
K.whereas human rights violations against the Uyghur people have been well documented in recent history, including the use of enforced disappearance against Uyghur protestors and refugees and the arbitrary detention of Uyghur scholars and political dissidents, most notably the case of Ilham Tohti;
L.whereas the Chinese government has denied access to XUAR to any independent experts from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights or the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances;
1.Is alarmed by a situation characterized by mass violation of human rights of people belonging to the same ethnic group,
2.Believes that those acts can constitute an attempt of genocide and urges the United Nation to consider to take into consideration a deeper investigation on this hypothesis,
3.Condemns any form of forced disappearance, arbitrary detention, in particular when committed by public power,
4.Calls on the Chinese government to acknowledge the scale and nature of the internment camp system and to make public the names and locations of all those detained in the camps,
5. Urges the Chinese government to immediately release all those currently held in extra-legal or arbitrary detention, such as “de-extremification” or “transformation-through-education” camps,
6. Calls on the Chinese government to grant a fair trial, in line with international standards, to all who are accused of a crime, to allow detained people to legally challenge their condition and to transfer to recognized detention facilities those who are condemned,
7.Urges the Chinese government, to ensure that all detainees now in “de-extremification”, “education” or other facilities in the XUAR have prompt and regular access to a lawyer of their choice, independent medical personnel and their families and are not subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
8. Calls on the Chinese government to conduct impartial, independent, prompt, effective and transparent investigations of anybody alleged to be responsible for violating the human rights of Uighurs or others in the XUAR and ensure that they are appropriately brought to justice without recourse to the death penalty and that the victims are granted full reparations for the harm they have endured
9.Expresses deep concern at allegations of torture and other serious human rights violations being perpetrated against detainees in the camps,
10.Is worried by reports of the children of individuals detained in the camps are being taken to orphanages and subjected to indoctrination,
11.Urges the Chinese government to allow independent investigators to access the region,
12. Calls on the Chinese government to repeal or amend all laws and regulations, and end all related measures, that restrict the exercise of human rights by Uighurs and other ethnic minorities and ensure that any legal provisions aimed at protecting national security or counter-terrorism are clearly and narrowly defined and conform to international human rights law and standards,
13.Urges the Chinese government to ensure that everybody in the XUAR is able to communicate with family members and others without interference, including with those living in other countries,
14.Reasserts the importance of human rights in EU-China relations and notes that the human rights situation in China has deteriorated dramatically in recent years,
15.Call on the EU and its member states to make full use of all bilateral and multilateral meetings between EU and Chinese officials, including the forthcoming Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the 31st session of the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR), to publicly raise the mass arbitrary detention of Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic groups in internment camps, in order to obtain that the Chinese government provides transparent and detailed information on these centres and their activities, provides access to the facilities for EU, EU member states and United Nations (UN) officials and ends all arbitrary detention, immediately releasing all persons who are being held in “transformation-through-education” or similar facilities in the XUAR,
16.Calls on the EU to impose targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for the mass arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in internment camps,
17.Call on the Chinese government to stop requesting other countries to return individuals to China in violation of the non-refoulement principle; Calls on national governments as a matter of urgency to cease, in accordance with their obligations under international law, all forced direct or indirect transfer to China of Uighurs, Kazakhs or other Chinese nationals from the XUAR, where they would face a real risk of serious human rights violations based on their ethnic identity and religious beliefs,
18.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Government of China, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the UN, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN Human Rights Council.