Dutch parliament declares China’s treatment of Uygurs is genocide

Name: China denounces Canadian lawmakers for passing motion declaring genocide in Xinjiang
Uploaded: 2021-02-25T17:23:11.000Z
Duration: 1 min 9 s
Description: China denounces Canadian lawmakers for passing motion declaring genocide in Xinjiang

The Netherlands is the first European country to make such a statement, while Canadian lawmakers passed a similar resolution earlier this week

The Dutch non-binding motion cites actions by Beijing such as ‘measures intended to prevent births’ and ‘having punishment camps’

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Activists rally in Washington on February 19 to encourage Canada and other countries to label China’s treatment of Uygurs and other minority groups as genocide. Photo: Reuters

Reuters

Published: 1:23am, 26 Feb 2021Updated: 4:07am, 26 Feb 2021

The Netherlands’ parliament on Thursday passed a non-binding motion saying that the treatment of the Uygur Muslim minority in China amounts to genocide, the first European country to make such a statement.

“A genocide on the Uygur minority is occurring in China,” the motion said, stopping short of directly saying that the country’s government was responsible.

The US, which made a genocide declaration in January, in the final days of the Trump administration, said on Thursday that it had not made a final decision on whether to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing over the alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

Canada passed a resolution labelling China’s treatment of the Uygurs genocide earlier this week.

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China denounces Canadian lawmakers for passing motion declaring genocide in Xinjiang

The Dutch motion said that actions by the Chinese government such as “measures intended to prevent births” and “having punishment camps” fell under United Nations Resolution 260, generally known as the genocide convention.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s conservative VVD party voted against the resolution.