The opposition UK Labor Party will try to declare the Chinese government’s treatment of the Uyghurs genocide if it wins the next general election.
Labor Member of Parliament David Lammy, who serves as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, said he would “act multilaterally with our partners” to have China’s actions recognized as genocide in the international courts, he said. political.
“What we have seen from China is that they continue to be more repressive internally and there was obviously a lot of concern in Xinjiang,” Lammy told Politico on Tuesday during an event organized by the left-wing think tank Fabian Society, where he presented Labor’s plan for foreign policy for the government.
“We have to challenge China and it is definitely a strategic competitor in essential areas, and we have to hold them to account on human rights, but there are areas where it is important to cooperate,” he said, according to the report.
“Parliament made a decision on the genocide, the international community is very concerned about the genocide,” he was quoted as saying.
Lammy’s comments come as pressure mounts to stop China’s crackdown on Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, amid a growing body of evidence documenting the detention of as many as 1.8 million. of Uyghurs and others in “re-education” camps, torture, sexual abuse. abuse and forced labor.
The United States has called China’s actions genocide and the United Nations has said they may constitute crimes against humanity.
But the UK has avoided doing so, preferring to have the matter resolved by international courts.
In April 2021, a majority of UK members of Parliament voted in favor of a motion declaring that the Chinese government was committing genocide against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, although it did not require the British government to act to acknowledge it.
China has always denied the accusations, saying the camps were vocational training centers to prevent religious extremism and terrorism.
Polls indicate that the Labor Party is the favorite to win the next election after more than a decade in opposition. The next general election is scheduled to be held no later than January 28, 2025.
Rahima Mahnut, UK director for the World Uyghur Congress, welcomed Lammy’s comments.
“I am very pleased that the Shadow Foreign Secretary has confirmed that the Labor Party shares this policy and is committed to working multilaterally with international partners to ensure accountability for the Uyghur people,” she told RFA on Thursday. “I hope this means that countries in Europe and around the world see that it is time to do the same.”
Luke de Pulford, chief executive of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, noted that Labor shadow ministers have regularly described what happens to the Uyghurs as genocide.
“The real test will be whether Labor sticks to this line when in government,” he said. “Of course, if the UK were to act to declare genocide, it would jeopardize our responsibilities under the Genocide Convention and would require serious action.”
Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
