Madam High Commissioner,

We, the undersigned human rights organisations, write to follow up on your commitment last year to release a report on grave ongoing human rights violations by Chinese authorities targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic communities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (the Uyghur region). The release of the report without further delay is essential – to send a message to victims and perpetrators alike that no state, no matter how powerful, is above international law or the robust independent scrutiny of your Office.

As you are aware, many of our organisations have documented how Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the Uyghur region face systematic state-organized mass detention, torture, persecution, and other violations of a scale and nature amounting to crimes against humanity. We have repeatedly raised alarm – including to your Office – over the extreme measures taken by Chinese authorities since 2017 to root out the religious traditions, cultural practices, and local languages of the region’s Muslim ethnic groups. Carried out under the guise of fighting “terrorism”, these crimes have targeted ethnic Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Hui, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks and Tajiks.

In 2020, an unprecedented number of special procedures issued a landmark statement expressing concerns over human rights violations in China, including in the Uyghur region, and called for the UN to take decisive action. Treaty Bodies have also raised concerns over the situation in that region over the last five years.

In contrast to these efforts, we have been concerned by the relative silence of your Office in the face of these grave violations, aside from procedural updates on the status of negotiations to gain meaningful access to Xinjiang. In that context, we welcomed your confirmation in September last year that your Office was “finalising its assessment of the available information on allegations of serious human rights violations in [Xinjiang] with a view to making it public.” Six months later, after having been assured by your spokesperson in December the report would be released in a matter of weeks, the world is still awaiting that report.

Victims and survivors should not have to wait any longer. They and their families deserve justice and accountability, and need to know that your Office stands with them.

We urge you to fulfill your mandate, release the report without further delay, and brief members and observers of the UN Human Rights Council on its contents as a matter of urgency.

Accountability can wait no longer.

​​Signatories:

1. 21Wilberforce
2. ACAT-France
3. Access Accountability
4. Alberta Uyghur Association
5. Alliance des Avocats pour les Droits de l’Homme
6. Alliance for Vietnam’s Democracy
7. ALTSEAN-Burma
8. American Alliance for Automotive Corporate Social Responsibility
9. American Muslim Bar Association
10. Amnesty International
11. Arakan Rohingya National Organisation
12. ARTICLE 19
13. Asia Democracy Network Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
14. Australian East Turkestan Association
15. Australian Uyghur Association
16. Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women’s Association
17. Austria Uyghur Association
18. Bauhinias For Freedom
19. Bay Area Friends of Tibet
20. Be Slavery Free
21. Belgium Uyghur Association
22. Blue Crescent Humanitarian Aid Association
23. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
24. Campaign for Uyghurs
25. Canadian Coalition Against Communisms
26. Carleton University
27. China Against the Death Penalty
28. China Aid
29. China Change
30. Chinese Christian Fellowship of Righteousness 華人基督徒公義團契
31. Chinese Human Rights Defenders
32. Chulalongkorn University’s Student Union
33. Church of Scientology National Affairs Office
34. CIDH AFRICA
35. Coalition Burkinabè des Défenseurs des Droits Humains (CBDDH)
36. Coalition des défenseurs des droits humains du Benin
37. Comité de Apoyo al Tíbet – CAT
38. Crane Center for Mass Atrocity Prevention
39. CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
40. DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
41. Dialogue China
42. Dutch Uyghur Human Rights Foundation
43. East Turkestan Press and Media Association
44. East Turkestan Union of Muslim Scholars
45. East Turkistan Association in Finland
46. East Turkistan Association of Canada
47. East Turkistan Education and Solidarity Association
48. East Turkistan Entrepreneur Tradesmen and Industrialists Businessmen Association
49. East Turkistan Human Rights Watch
50. East Turkistan New Generation Movement
51. East Turkistan Nuzugum Culture and Family Association
52. East Turkistan Sports and Development Association
53. East Turkistan Union in Europe
54. Eastern Turkistan Foundation
55. Engage Action
56. European East Turkistan Education Association
57. EXCUBITUSdhe
58. Family Research Council
59. Fédération Euro-méditerranéenne contre les disparitions Forcées
60. Federation for a Democratic China
61. Finnish Uyghur Culture Center
62. Frankfurt stands with Hongkong
63. Fundacion Aguaclara
64. GAYa NUSANTARA Foundation
65. Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities
66. Green Advocates International (Liberia)
67. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
68. Hebrew Congregation of Somers
69. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
70. Hirschfeld-Eddy-Stiftung
71. Hong Kong Committee in Norway
72. Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC)
73. Hong Kong Global Connect
74. Human Asia
75. Human Rights in China (HRIC)
76. Human Rights Watch
77. Human Trafficking Search
78. Humanitarian China
79. Ilham Tohti Initiative
80. Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council
81. International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute
82. International Campaign For Tibet
83. International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC)
84. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
85. International Pen Uyghur Center
86. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
87. International Society for Human Rights, Chapter Munich
88. International Support for Uyghurs
89. International Tibet Network
90. International Union of East Turkistan Organizations
91. International Uyghur Human Right and Democracy Foundation
92. IRPOO Siberia without torture
93. Isa Yusup Alptekin Foundation
94. Islamic Community Milli Gorus
95. Islamic Information & Services Foundation Malaysia
96. Japan Uyghur Association
97. Jewish Movement for Uyghur Freedom
98. Jewish World Watch
99. Judicial Reform Foundation
100. Justice For All
101. Justice for Uyghurs – Switzerland
102. Lady Lawyer Foundation
103. Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada
104. Le Comité pour la Liberté à Hong-Kong
105. Liberty and Democracy Advocacy Club University of Calgary
106. Malaysia4Uyghur
107. Mamatjan Nayup
108. Minaret Foundation
109. Minh Van Foundation
110. Minority Rights Group International (MRG)
111. Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
112. Mulmangcho
113. National Committee of Democratic Party of China
114. Netherlands for Hong Kong
115. No Business With Genocide
116. Northern California Hong Kong Club
117. Norwegian Uyghur Committee
118. Omer Uygur Foundation
119. Peace Catalyst International
120. People for Successful Corean Reunification (PSCORE)
121. People’s Watch
122. Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights)
123. Planet Ally
124. PROMEDEHUM
125. René Cassin, the Jewish voice for human rights
126. Safeguard Defenders
127. Satuq Bugrakhan Foundation of Science and Civilization
128. SAVE TIBET Austria
129. Silk Road Peace Project
130. Society for Threatened Peoples
131. Society Union of Uyghur National Association
132. Solidarité Chine, Paris
133. Solidarity Sisters Network of Liberia (SoSNoL)
134. Stepping Stones
135. Stop Uyghur Genocide Australia
136. Stop Uyghur Genocide Canada
137. Sweden Uyghur Education Union
138. Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association
139. Switzerland East Turkestan Association
140. The Community Human Rights Promotion and Protection Association – ACPDH
141. The International Women’s Alliance for Family Institution and Quality Education
142. The Lesbian and Gay Association of Liberia (LEGAL)
143. The Rights Practice
144. Tibet Action Institute
145. Tibet Justice Center
146. Tibet Solidarity
147. Tibet Support Group Ireland
148. Tibetan Youth Association in Europe
149. Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG)
150. Uigur Society of the Kyrgyz Republic
151. Umer Uyghur Trust
152. Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam
153. United Council of Vietnamese Homeland and Overseas
154. United Macedonian Diaspora
155. Uyghur Academy
156. Uyghur Academy Australia
157. Uyghur Academy Canada
158. Uyghur Academy Europe
159. Uyghur Academy Foundation
160. Uyghur Academy Japan
161. Uyghur Academy USA
162. Uyghur American Association
163. Uyghur Association of Victoria, Australia
164. Uyghur Center for Human Rights and Democracy
165. Uyghur Cultural and Education Union in Germany
166. Uyghur Education Union
167. Uyghur Human Rights Project
168. Uyghur Mosque
169. Uyghur Projects Foundation
170. Uyghur Refugee Relief Fund
171. Uyghur Research Institute
172. Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project
173. Uyghur Science and Civilization Research Foundation
174. Uyghur Support Group Netherlands
175. Uyghur Transitional Justice Database
176. Uyghur U.K. Association
177. Uyghur Youth Union in Kazakhstan
178. Uzbekistan Uyghur Culture Center
179. Victoria Uyghur Association
180. Viet Democratic Side’s International Forum
181. Vietnam Helsinki Human Rights Committee
182. Vietnam Human Rights Day – May 11 Organization
183. Vietnam Human Rights Network
184. Vietnamese Nationalist Party
185. Visual Artists Guild
186. Witness Radio – Uganda
187. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
188. World Uyghur Congress
189. World Uyghur Congress Foundation
190. World Without Genocide
191. Young leadership for social change network