The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has hailed the unmous passing of the genocide motion in the British House of Commons after legislators in the UK unmously declared China's ongoing crackdown on Uyghurs in its northwest region of Xinjiang a "genocide".
WUC, a pro-Uyghur body, on Thursday in a statement said that British MPs have taken a strong position that underscores that the UK cannot sit in silence whilst national parliaments around the world are debating this exact question.
The WUC release said that this vote comes weeks after the genocide amendment presented in the House of Commons, backed by a cross-party alliance of MPs as well as several civil society and religious groups, was defeated.
This amendment would have been a crucial step towards UK courts making a legal determination whether China's actions against Uyghurs in East Turkistan constitute genocide. As for Uyghurs, this would have been an important opportunity for a legal determination on whether China's actions constitute genocide.
"Uyghur survivors have begged for recognition of what is happening to them. The international community, including governments, parliaments, and civil society groups are moving towards a genocide designation," said WUC President Dolkun Isa. "It is an important step in the right direction that British MPs have joined the momentum and call it what it is: a genocide.'"
WUC's UK Director, Rahima Mahmut said: "Statements of solidarity mean a lot, but Uyghurs need them to be followed up with mengful action. Only when the Chinese government faces the consequences of its actions will it be deterred from further abuses. That the British parliament has unmously recognised this as genocide is a major victory for all those who have been drawing attention to these abuses over many years."
The passing of the genocide motion comes at a time where the question of genocide has been raised within various other governments in the international community.
In February, both the Canadian and Dutch parliaments adopted a motion recognising the Uyghur crisis as genocide. The latter became the first parliament in Europe to do so.
China has been rebuked globally for cracking down on Uyghur Muslims by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and sending members of the community to undergo some form of forcible re-education or indoctrination.
Beijing, on the other hand, has vehemently denied that it is engaged in human rights abuses against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang while reports from journalists, NGOs and former detainees have surfaced, highlighting the Chinese Communist Party's brutal crackdown on the ethnic community.
( With inputs from ANI )
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