European Parliament passes landslide vote on China’s alleged rights abuses in Xinjiang
- Adopted resolution calls on Beijing to halt forced labour and mass forced sterilisation of Uygurs
- Non-binding resolution is measure of the mood among members from each of the EU’s 27 member states
By a landslide margin, the European Parliament has adopted a position stating that China’s alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang hold a “serious risk of genocide”.
Lawmakers voted 513 in favour of the resolution on Thursday in Strasbourg, France. There were 14 abstentions and one vote against.
The language was part of a broader resolution condemning China’s treatment of Uygurs and other ethnic Muslims in the northwestern region.
Such resolutions are not binding and do not mean a shift in the official position of the European Union. Rather, they are a gauge of the mood in Parliament, which is made up of directly elected members from each of the EU’s 27 member states.
The text said “credible evidence about birth prevention measures and the separation of Uygur children from their families amount to crimes against humanity and serious risk of genocide”.
01:12
UN human rights chief speaks with Xi Jinping amid criticism of China trip
It called on Beijing to “cease all government-sponsored programmes of forced labour and mass forced sterilisation and put an immediate end to any measures aimed at preventing births in the Uygur population, including forced abortions or sanctions against birth control violations”.