South China Morning Post
Advertisement
Advertisement
Xinjiang
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
A watchtower is seen in May 2019 at a high-security facility in Xinjiang near what is believed to be a re-education camp where mostly people from Muslim ethnic minorities are detained. Photo: AFP
WorldEurope

French parliament condemns China’s Uygur treatment as ‘crimes against humanity and genocide’

  • The move follows a similar vote in the UK and Holland, which will not send officials to the Winter Olympics because of China’s human rights record
  • France’s motion also asked the government to protect Uygur residents in its country against any intimidation or harassment by China
Xinjiang
Reuters
Reuters
Why you can trust SCMP

France’s parliament passed an opposition-led motion asking the government to condemn China for “crimes against humanity and genocide” against its Uygur Muslim minority and to take foreign policy measures to make this stop.

The non-binding motion, led by the Socialist party and supported by several other opposition parties, was adopted with 169 votes for and one vote against.

Coming ahead of the start of the Winter Olympics in China, the motion also asked the government to protect Uygur residents in France against any intimidation or harassment by China.

NBA in fresh China controversy, team owner says ‘nobody cares’ about Uygurs

The UK Parliament made a genocide declaration last April, however, the government has continued to refuse to make such a declaration.

Activists and UN rights experts say at least 1 million Muslims are being detained in camps in the remote western region of Xinjiang.

The activists and some Western politicians accuse China of using torture, forced labour and sterilisations.

China denies any human rights abuses in Xinjiang and says its camps provide vocational training and are needed to fight extremism.
“The French National Assembly’s resolution on Xinjiang ignores facts and legal knowledge and grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs,” foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular press briefing. “China firmly opposes it.”
Western nations have said they will not send officials to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Photo: AFP

Following a similar vote in the Dutch parliament, the Chinese embassy in The Hague said any suggestion of a genocide in Xinjiang was an “outright lie” and that the Dutch parliament had “deliberately smeared China and grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs”.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in December that he did not want to “politicise” the Olympics.

The United States, Australia and Britain are among Western nations that have said they will not send officials to the 2022 Winter Olympics to send China a message over its human rights record.

14