The mass detention of Uighurs and other Muslims in China is no secret to the world. Since 2017, the Chinese government has reportedly detained millions of Uighurs and other Muslims, including ethnic Kazakhs and Uzbeks in internment camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Outside of the camps, the eleven million Uighurs living in Xinjiang have been subject to a decades-long crackdown by Chinese authorities. President Xi Jinping justified the mass arrests on the basis that “the toxicity of religious extremism” needs to be eliminated through “dictatorship”. However, many Uighurs have been detained for attending services at mosques, physically manifesting their faith by wearing a hijab (head scarf), keeping a beard, or possessing books related to Islam. This indicates that innocent Muslims are being systematically persecuted under the guise of national security. 

COVID-19 AND THE INCREASE OF UIGHUR OPPRESSION

With the onset and consequent spread of COVID-19, and the already unhygienic, over crowded, inhumane conditions of the camps, China has successfully harboured a deadly environment to exacerbate the spread of the virus amongst detainees. According to some accounts in March 2020, there has been a media blackout in Xinjiang, with state officials deeming the number of virus-infected Uighurs in the province a state secret. Yet, released reports show that China has sent thousands of Uighurs to its manufacturing powerhouses at Hunan, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang to keep its factories running after the lockdown measures evacuated regular workers.

Further, the sudden suspicious reduction in the waiting time for organ transplantations hints towards the reports of detained Uighurs being abused in “kill-on-demand” emergency measures to harvest their organs to meet a virus-spiked medical demand. 

The Chinese state continues to advance in its long standing reputation of failing to adhere to its international human rights obligations, in particular by failing to protect the rights of its citizens as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

US SANCTIONS ON CHINA AND THE UIGHUR COMMUNITY

Although universal activism in support for the Uighurs has significantly increased in the previous months, unsurprisingly, the international community has been slow to respond. Specifically, Muslim nations have avoided addressing the issue, perhaps due to fear of weakening their strategic relationships and economic ties by antagonising China.

Notably, the West has not been shy in condemning China. In 2019, the US began its campaign of placing economic sanctions on numerous Chinese companies linked to human rights violations in the region and imposing visa restrictions on Chinese officials “believed to be responsible for, or complicit in,” the mass detention of Uighur Muslims.

The US House of Representatives furthered such disapproval by unanimously approving the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act 2020 in May 2020. The bill is transparent in condemning the Chinese Communist Party for the establishment of detention camps and demands a tougher response to China’s human rights abuses. Its aims are achieved through the following two-pronged approach: First, it imbues the US President and Congress with the power to identify and sanction specific Chinese officials responsible for committing crimes against humanity against the persecuted minority; and second, it urges US companies or individuals operating in the Xinjiang region to ensure that their products do not include parts manufactured using forced labour of Uighurs. 

The effect this will seemingly have on China’s actions towards the Uighurs is significant. Under both the 2019 economic sanctions and the 2020 bill, the efforts seem to be invested in weakening the economic growth and stability of the blacklisted Chinese individuals and companies, effectively blocking them from buying US products and denying exports of technologies that facilitate abuse.

Previously, US sanctions on China have been a part of their long standing turbulent trade relationship, underpinned by heightened tariffs and growing discontent towards each state’s trade practices. By placing these sanctions under the human rights lens, several economists suggest that the US is attempting to diffuse its conflict with China by shifting focus to another range of issues.

In turn, the sanctions will challenge China to address and rectify its unlawful practices in the name of human rights, as it cannot justify or refute its actions towards the Uighur minority under this lens. The US president signed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act into law 17 June 2020. Although the bill signifies the beginning of a comprehensive policy response to the persecution of Uighurs and other minorities in China, there is uncertainty regarding why the US has encouraged and heavily pushed for such legislation now, where the House of Representatives unanimously consented to the bill in a process used only for expedited passage of uncontroversial legislation.

The US does not have an impeccable track record with regards to condemning and eliminating human rights violations around the world. It is also worth mentioning that the country has recently threatened the re-enactment of martial law and the consequent suspension of civil rights following the Black Lives Matter protests. Thus, the intentions behind the immediate support for the Muslim minority in China raises suspicion. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated human rights abuses against religious minorities in China. The US’s Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act is the first legislative initiative by a national government to address the Uighur crisis. As the US battles its own human rights crises and China struggles with its civil unrest in Hong Kong as well as the economic downfall of its lockdown, the Uighur minority is left with the hope that this bill may yet begin the overdue fight for their protection. 

Eeman is a LLB Law graduate and is currently studying her LLM in International Human Rights Law. She is incredibly passionate about developing a legal career advocating for persecuted minorities including refugees and asylum seekers, especially in Southern and Western Asia.

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