FORUM: United Nations Security Council

ISSUE: Uyghur Turks in Concentration Camps in People’s Republic of China

STUDENT OFFICER: Yaren Özdemir

POSITION: Deputy President

LETTER FROM THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Highly-esteemed participants of the United Nations Security Council of TEDMUN 2021,

My name is Yaren Özdemir. I am an 11th grader in Arı High School. Before introducing

myself, I would like to welcome you all to

TEDMUN’21 as the Deputy President of thE United

Nations Security Council. It is pure delectation to be

classified among the successful Academic Team of

TEDMUN’21 since it is blatant that the conference

has been administered and conducted with the

utmost professionalism alongside the admirable

work ethic to cater to all of our participants’

demands and provide an enriching environment for

all.

My MUN journey dates back to the beginning of 9th

Grade when my friends persuaded me to attend the

MUN Club at my school. It is fair to say that it has

become one of the most immense experiences of my

life. Having attended 23 conferences both

international and national, it has become one of those

things that I grind with compassion. Every single conference I’ve attended has contributed to

the formation of my personality whether it is how to present an argument in a professional

environment with proper manners or preparing an academic paper that is bountiful with

information. Alongside the academic development, I have spontaneously assembled with

divergent people and they developed into a vital part of my life. MUN conferences, for a

passionate attendant, form an individual's life with different aspects, all at the same time.

If I talk about myself for a bit, I’m an aspiring politician with hobbies like ballet, tennis,

singing, and boxing alongside. Having a tight schedule, I managed to form a different

perspective on discipline so I can assure you I will do my very best to ensure all of you that I

will contribute to creating a peaceful and safe environment for everyone to express their

opinions. As an extrovert, I would love nothing more than to bond with my delegates on a

friendship level while helping them develop into the best version of themselves. As the

Academic Team, we are eager to meet all of you and help you broaden your perspective as

well as your knowledge. Hope to see you all soon.

Yaren Özdemir

Deputy President of the United Nations Security Council

INTRODUCTION

The Uyghurs of Eastern Turkestan, an autonomous region in China's Sin-Kiang

province, share many characteristics with Turks, including faith, language, and ethnicity.

They are subjected to a ruthless and systemic persecution to which the rest of the world pays

no attention. More than a million people have now been interned in "re-education camps" of

which little is understood and whose names bear a striking resemblance to an infamous

history. According to reports, the Chinese government has imprisoned over a million

Muslims in reeducation camps. The majority of those detained illegally are Uyghurs, a

Turkic-speaking ethnic group mainly from China's northwestern province of Xinjiang.Human

rights groups, UN leaders, and a number of foreign governments have urged China to halt the

abuses, which the US has labeled “genocide”. However, Chinese officials maintain that what

they refer to as vocational training centers do not violate the human rights of Uyghurs.

The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region government and its Chinese Communist

Party (CCP) provincial committee rule these internment camps. They have been used to

indoctrinate Uyghurs and other Muslims since 2017, according to Human Rights Watch, as

part of a "people's war on terror" program declared in 2014.Many countries and human rights

groups have condemned the camps for suspected human rights violations, mistreatment, rape,

and torture, with some even accusing them of genocide. The camps have received funding

from a number of countries.

The United Nations reported the inequality and the cultural indoctrination resembled

massive internment camps in Xinjiang, an autonomous region located in western China.

Xinjiang is home to almost 10 million Uighur Muslims and it was brought to attention that up

to one million Uighur Muslims were forced into the grounds. The situation unfortunately does

not end there. UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has also claimed

that up to two million Uighur Muslims were forced into the sweeping system of ethnic

cleansing which occurs in these “political camps for indoctrination”.

The staggering internment where one in every ten Uighur Muslims living in Xinjiang

seems to “disappear into internment camps” is an appalling figure for those who have their

relatives or friends locked away for no other crime practicing a religion- Islam. In the region,

it is associated with separatism, subversion, and even terrorism.

The internment of one million people unfortunately is only the tip of the whole form

of ethnic cleansing. We have also been familiar with the terms internment, ethnic cleansing,

and concentration camps during the Holocaust, Japanese Americans riding up during World

War Two due to the discrimination and ethical indoctrination towards them as well. It is

definite that the world remains unaware of the situation in Xinjiang and the amount of

information being deficient therefore the agenda item holds great value.

DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

1. Xinjiang Xinjiang, China's largest territory, borders Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India in the northwestern corner of the world. It was once a flourishing area of China due to ancient Silk Road trade, and it is rich in natural resources. It has now become a focal point for the Belt and Road Initiative.

2. Concentration Camp: a location where large groups of people, especially political prisoners or representatives of marginalized minorities, are imprisoned in a small space with insufficient facilities, often to provide forced labor or to await mass execution.

3. Re-education Camp: A camp or prison where ideological dissidents undergo reeducation or indoctrination.

4. Labor Camp a prison camp in which a regime of hard labour is enforced.

5. Genocide:the killing of a large number of people from a specific nation or ethnic group with the intent of destroying that nation or ethnic group.

6. Cultural Indoctrination: Cultural indoctrination (CI) is the method of instilling ideas, behaviors, and cognitive techniques during the transmission of cultural practices and beliefs from one generation to the next in the hopes that they will be followed and not challenged in the future.

7. Autonomous (of a country or region) having the freedom to govern itself or control its own affairs.

8. Belt and road initiative The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a Chinese government-backed proposal to resurrect the Silk Road network of land and sea trade routes, connecting China to Europe and Asia in the process. The BRI aims to combat poverty and regional alienation by promoting economic growth through infrastructure and other development projects. As of May 2019, more than 60 countries (representing two-thirds of the global population) had developed or expressed interest in establishing BRI projects.

9. Extremism“The promotion of drastic measures or views; radicalism,” according to the definition. One of the key justifications given by Chinese authorities for the camps is the eradication of extremism. China claims that separatist Islamist groups pose an extremist threat, and that authorities must tackle violent terrorist criminal activities. Extremism is also covered under this heading. The word "The Three Evil Forces" was coined by Chinese administrators to describe three central ideas that threaten social stability. Terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism are the Three Evil Forces.

10.Separatism“A belief in, movement toward, or state of separation,” according to the definition. “The Three Evil Forces” also includes ethnic separatism. Foreigners could use religion to promote separatism, according to the Chinese government, which

recognizes five religions (Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestantism). The central government will face chaos and lose power as a result of this. The Chinese state-run newspaper, the Global Times, published an editorial in September 2018 claiming that Islamist extremists are plotting attacks in Xinjiang in order to incite dissent and a desire for greater separation between the region's citizens and the central government.Furthermore, the editorial argues that Western accusations of weak governance by Xinjiang authorities have only emboldened separatists and sparked more unrest. As a result, one of the key goals of the re-education camps (as well as other types of government surveillance in the region) is to re-educate locals in Chinese history, language, and culture in order to deter terrorism linked to Islamic separatism.Human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch characterize this as an attempt to eradicate local culture and compel residents to convert to Islam.

11.Forced Labor "all work or service that is demanded of any person under threat of punishment and for which the person has not willingly offered himself or herself."

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Throughout history, numerous Chinese dynasties have exercised varying degrees of power and authority over parts of what is now Xinjiang. The area was fully conquered by China as a part of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty's westward expansion, which also included Tibet and Mongolia. This conquest, which marked the start of Qing rule in Xinjiang, ended in 1758.

Although it was nominally declared part of China's core territories, the imperial court regarded it as a separate entity; in 1758, it was designated as a penal colony and exile site, and it was governed as a military protectorate rather than a province. After Yang Zengxin, the governor of the semi-autonomous Kumul Khanate in east Xinjiang under the Republic of China, was assassinated in 1928, Jin Shuren took over as governor of the Khanate. Jin abolished the Khanate and took possession of the area as a warlord after the death of the Kamul Khan Maqsud Shah in 1930. The Kumul Rebellion founded the breakaway First East Turkestan Republic in 1933. Warlord Sheng Shicai, with the support of the Soviet Union, annexed the First Turkestan Republic in 1934, before reconciling with the Republic of China in 1942. The Ili Rebellion in 1944 resulted in the establishment of the Second East Turkestan Republic, which was reliant on the Soviet Union for commerce, weapons, and "tacit approval" to exist until being incorporated into the People's Republic of China in 1949.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, the government encouraged a large-scale migration of Han Chinese to the area, as well as policies that promoted Chinese cultural unity and penalized certain expressions of Uyghur identity. During this time, militant Uyghur separatist groups with possible Soviet Union support arose, the largest of which was the East Turkestan People's Party in 1968. The Soviet Union backed the United Revolutionary Front of East Turkestan (URFET) in its struggle against the Chinese in the 1970s. In February 1997,

massive protests in response to a police roundup and execution of 30 alleged separatists during Ramadan led to the Ghulja incident, a People's Liberation Army (PLA) crackdown that resulted in at least nine deaths. Later that month, Uyghur exile groups claimed responsibility for the Ürümqi bus bombings, which killed nine people and wounded 68 others.A bus bomb killed two people in March 1997, with Uyghur militants and the Turkey-based Organization for East Turkistan Freedom claiming responsibility.

Riots erupted in Xinjiang in July 2009 in reaction to a violent conflict between Uyghur and Han Chinese factory workers, resulting in over 100 deaths. From 2009 to 2016, Uyghur militants killed hundreds of Chinese people in organized attacks in the aftermath of the riots.

The August 2009 syringe attacks, the 2011 Hotan bomb-and-knife attack, the Kunming railway station knife attack in March 2014, the Ürümqi railway station bomb-and-knife attack in April 2014, and the May 2014 car-and-bomb attack in an Ürümqi street market were among them. The Turkistan Islamic Party (formerly the East Turkestan Islamic Movement), which has been branded a terrorist group by many countries, including Russia, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States(until 2020)

Zhang Chunxian succeeded Wang Lequan as Communist Party leader in April 2010, following the Ürümqi riots. Wang's authoritarian policies were continued and reinforced by Zhang Chunxian. Zhang proposed "modern culture leads Xinjiang's growth" as his policy statement in 2011 and began implementing his modern culture propaganda. The Belt and Road Initiative, a major trade project with Xinjiang at its core, was unveiled in 2013. In 2014, Chinese officials declared a "People's War on Terror," and local governments imposed new regulations and outlawed "abnormal" long beards; wearing the burka in public places was also prohibited, similar to some European countries. Via systemic "de-extremification" initiatives, the idea of "transformation through education" started to be used in contexts outside of Falun Gong in 2014. The Communist Party of China launched its "Strike Hard Campaign against Violent Terrorism" in Xinjiang under Zhang's leadership. Chen Quanguo, a well-known hardline Communist Party secretary in Tibet, was appointed to lead the Xinjiang autonomous region in August 2016. Critics also accused Chen of being responsible for a significant part of Tibet's "subjugation."

Following Chen's arrival, local authorities hired over 90,000 police officers in 2016 and 2017, more than double the number hired in the previous seven years, and built up to 7,300 heavily guarded checkpoints across the country .The province has earned a reputation as one of the world's most heavily policed areas. According to English-language news sources, the emerging regime in Xinjiang is the world's most comprehensive police state.

Groups That Are Targeted by the SurveillanceAccording to Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a senior Chinese party official argued

in 2015 that "a third" of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang were "polluted by religious extremist movements" and needed to be "trained and reformed by concentrated power."

Around the same time, China's security agency was creating a "Integrated Joint Operations Platform'' (IJOP) to analyze data from its surveillance systems. According to a Human Rights Watch review of this software, a member of a minority could be classified by

the IJOP as one of 36 "individual forms," which could result in detention and internment in a re-education camp. Some of these included:

· people who do not use a mobile phone,· who use the back door instead of the front,· who consume an “unusual” amount of electricity,· have an “abnormal” beard,· socialize too little,· maintain “complex” relationships,

have a family member that exhibits some of these traits and so is "insufficiently loyal".

Since 2017, the facilities in Xinjiang have been referred to as "counter-extremism training centers" and "education and transition training centers" by the local media. While some were purpose-built, the majority of the facilities were adapted from existing schools or other government buildings. Thousands of checkpoints and a heavily policed area aided and accelerated the imprisonment of locals in the camps. Despite accounting for less than 2% of China's population, the area accounted for 21% of all arrests in 2017, an increase of eight times over the previous year.Many cities and counties' judicial and other government bureaus have begun to issue procurement and construction bids for the proposed camps and facilities. Huge detention facilities are being established all over the region, and hundreds of thousands of people are being held there because of their religious beliefs and ethnicity.

INVOLVED COUNTRIES AND ORGANIZATIONS

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

When human rights organizations announced in 2018 that Muslim minorities in the area were being detained in large numbers and subjected to psychological indoctrination, the Chinese government shifted its position from outright denial to claiming these were re-education camps.About a million people were imprisoned in re-education camps, according to Human Rights Watch and other organizations.

HRW clarified that they were being detained for a number of reasons, including having relatives in ostensibly "sensitive" countries such as Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Turkey, or using WhatsApp to communicate with people in other countries. Re-education Camps in China's Xinjiang Province 4 Inmates are forced to pledge allegiance to President Xi Jinping and renounce their faith.``Governments are gradually acknowledging the misery of millions of people in Xinjiang, with families torn apart and living in terror, and a Chinese state that thinks it can commit mass abuses unchallenged,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement released in July 2019. HRW also has studies on Chinese authorities using surveillance technology to monitor lawful activity.

According to HRW's China Director Sophie Richardson, China's police and government officials have access to an app called the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP) that allows them to monitor personal information about individuals through these surveillance technologies.

EUROPEAN UNION

On September 11, 2018, Federica Mogherini, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, addressed the question of re-education camps in the European Parliament by stating that the most outstanding disagreement they have with China concerns the human rights situation. During the discussion they have also considered the expansion of political re-education camps and the detention of human rights defenders.

The European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution on December 19, 2019, condemning the mass imprisonment of Uyghurs and urging EU companies with supply chains in the area to ensure they are not complicit in crimes against humanity.

The European Parliament passed a resolution on December 17, 2020, strongly condemning China over claims of forced labour by ethnic and religious minorities. In the statement, the EU body said Parliament "strongly condemns the government-led system of forced labor, in particular the exploitation of Uyghur, ethnic Kazakh and Kyrgyz, and other Muslim minority groups, in factories both within and outside of internment camps in Xinjiang, as well as the transfer of forced laborers to other Chinese administrative divisions and the fact that well-known European brands and companies have been benefiting from the use of forced labor."

Four senior Chinese officials and the Public Security Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps were sanctioned on March 22, 2021, by the European Union, which was joined by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, for human rights violations against Uyghurs in Xinjiang. This was the EU's first penalty against China since the massacre in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Other human rights organizations that have reported on the situation in Xinjiang include Amnesty International. Nicholas Bequelin, the organization's East Asia Director, has spoken out about the situation in Xinjiang, saying, "The Chinese government must not be permitted to pursue this vicious campaign against ethnic minorities in northwest China."Governments all over the world must keep the Chinese authorities accountable for the XUAR nightmare.” Along with their findings and comments, Amnesty International has taken action by interviewing over 100 people outside of China who have either been detained in these camps or have relatives who are missing in the Xinjiang region. Many families have contacted Amnesty International in search of information about their missing relatives and close friends.

UNITED STATES

The US government and legislators have been outspoken about the situation in Xinjiang. The US government has also threatened sanctions, claiming that China is violating the basic human rights of the Uighurs. Bipartisan senators in the Senate have been working on a new policy calling on the Chinese government to close political re-education camps."Muslim ethnic minorities are subjected to illegal detention, torture, egregious restrictions on religious practice and culture, and a digitized surveillance system that is so widespread that every aspect of everyday life is tracked," they wrote in August 2018.In (Xinjiang), the Chinese government is establishing a high-tech police state that violates both privacy and international human rights.” The Chinese government is accused of "using the security forces for mass detention of Chinese Muslims in concentration camps," according to Randall Schriver, the US Defense Department's Asia policy director. This is some of the strongest U.S. condemnation to date.

Senators Marc Rubio, Robert Menendez, Chris Smith, and Tom Suozzi have proposed legislation that would require the FBI, US State Department, and a number of other US agencies to investigate the situation, as well as the appointment of a special coordinator for Xinjiang, a ban on US technology that the Chinese might be using in Xinjiang, and a slew of sanctions to combat crimes against humanity. Despite the fact that the US has been in high-level trade talks with China, the Trump administration has yet to bring up human rights concerns as a point of discussion.

The Trump Administration has put aside all economic leverage and previously negotiated tariffs in order to reach an agreement that benefits the US economy. Despite the fact that the sanctions were accepted by officials at the State Department and the National Security Council, senior Treasury Department officials were less enthusiastic. However, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, which was introduced in January 2019 and passed in May 2019. The Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act demands an end to imprisonment and persecution of Uighur communities in China, as well as a firm condemnation of human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.The bill requires reports on the Uighur situation in China, but has yet to be passed on the Senate floor.

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

The People's Republic of China is the country that is specifically interested in the situation. Despite the fact that Xinjiang is an autonomous region in northwest China, China has maintained tight influence over the region because the majority of the population is Uighur Muslims who consider themselves to be culturally, ethnically, and linguistically similar to Central Asia.Despite international criticism and demands for foreign journalists to be allowed access to the re-education camps in China's Xinjiang Province 5, the Chinese government bans investigators from entering the detention center grounds and has installed high security around the city to ensure this.

They've also developed regulations and passed laws to legitimize the use of re-education centers as a means of combating extremism and separatist ideas.Some Muslim Uighur religious practices, such as growing long ("non-standard") beards and wearing veils in public, are now banned, and those who do so will be sent to a "de-extremification" camp.

The Chinese government does not accept that the Uighurs' human rights are being violated in these detention centers. The Chinese government has expressed a desire for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Xinjiang, but the terms are yet to be agreed upon.China claims that its counter-terrorism policies and vocational training have restored peace and stability to the country, and that there have been no new terrorist attacks since December 2016. China began inviting small groups of international journalists to visit re-education camps in the first quarter of 2019. The resulting reports prompted claims (such as from the United States) that these visits were highly choreographed.

KAZAKHSTAN

Kazakhstan's government is a diplomatic, economic, and political partner of China, so it has been cautious in its response to the situation in Xinjiang, especially the allegations about re-education camps. Kazakhstan opened its doors to many ethnic Kazakhs living outside its borders after the Soviet Union collapsed.As a result, there was an explosion of immigration, but it also resulted in the division of Chinese and Kazakh families on the other side of the border. Despite the fact that Chinese Security Forces have been imprisoning ethnic Kazakhs as well, the Kazakh foreign minister announced in March 2019 during a visit to Beijing that his country "understands and supports the steps" taken in Xinjiang, effectively acknowledging China's rights and good intentions to “battle terrorism” in Chinese territory and denies asylum to those fleeing Xinjiang re education camps.

In addition to the allegation, a Kazakh court arrested Serikzhan Bilash, a Xinjiang Kazakh activist, on charges of inciting ethnic discord when he accused Beijing of committing "genocide" against Turkic minorities in Xinjiang on March 10, 2019. The court's actions support the idea that Kazakhstan's government places a higher priority on its ties with the PRC than on the detainees in China. Nonetheless, instead of completing his seven-year sentence, Bilash was released suddenly in August on the condition that he stop his activism. The Guardian, a British newspaper, speculated that this was due to international pressure over his case.

KYRGYZSTAN

The Belt and Road Initiative has had a direct impact on Kyrgyzstan, as it has improved trade cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Despite the fact that Kyrgyz have been imprisoned in China's re-education camps, the Kyrgyz government has remained silent on the Xinjiang re-education camps.“Bearing in mind that we are talking about Chinese citizens,” Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov said. “How should we meddle with another country's internal affairs?”

TURKMENISTAN

Turkmenistan is one of Central Asia's most isolated nations, with the country choosing to remain a neutral observer to most of the region's formal institutions. Turkmenistan, along with Tajikistan, signed a letter to the UN Human Rights Council in July 2019 endorsing China (while the other three Central Asian states were absent from either letter).Turkmenistan is China's largest natural gas supplier, and Turkmenistan is China's largest trading partner. Muslim people make up the vast majority of the population.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

In a letter, Russia and 35 other countries backed China, accusing the West of "politicizing human rights" and praising China's "remarkable strides" in human rights. Russia is one of China's closest allies and economic partners, as well as one of the BRI's most active participants. Russia, on the other hand, initially resisted the BRI, fearful of a confrontation with Russia's own Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently agreed to connect the EEU and the BRI, but Russia's relationship with China is unbalanced because of Russia's economy. China's Xinjiang Province has re-education camps, and its trade volume is only one-eighth that of the rest of the country. The BRI is likely to deepen the chasm, potentially harming Sino-Russian ties.

TURKEY

The Uighurs are Turkic Muslims who have links to Turkey in terms of history, culture, and religion. “It is no longer a secret that more than a million Uighur Turks exposed to arbitrary arrests are subjected to torture and political brainwashing” in reeducation camps in Xinjiang, according to Hami Aksoy, Turkey's foreign ministry spokesman. He also said that using re-education camps amounts to a "reintroduction of concentration camps" and is a "severe human rights violation."

Finally, he urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “take effective measures to end the human tragedy” in the country. Concerned countries are looking to Turkey and other members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to play a bigger role in pushing China to resolve the re-education camps. This is most likely due to the fact that other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Indonesia, have prioritized their economic and political links with China.

AFGHANISTAN

As a result of China's religious policies, ethnic minorities have long sought refuge in Afghanistan. More Uighurs have recently migrated to Afghanistan as a result of the Chinese government's increased efforts to limit Uighur rights, religion, and culture.Despite this, Afghanistan signed a letter endorsing China's treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang. The United States is withdrawing its armed forces from Afghanistan after occupying the country in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Afghanistan, despite this, signed a letter praising

China's treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang. Since invading Afghanistan in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the United States is withdrawing its armed forces. China is worried about Taliban contact with China's Muslim Uighur militants, so it has economic and political interests in Afghanistan's stability.

PAKISTAN

The Pakistani government has long been outspoken about Muslim rights and has backed them in places like Myanmar and Kashmir. Pakistan, on the other hand, has remained largely quiet on the Uighur situation in Xinjiang. Pakistan is heavily involved with China, for example, through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $62 billion BRI project that is a series of infrastructure projects currently under construction across Pakistan.

Pakistan has been so indebted to China as a result of the project that, in 2018, it pursued billions of dollars in loans from Saudi Arabia, the International Monetary Fund, and China to save its ailing economy.

INDIA

In January 2019, China dispatched diplomats from 12 nations, including India, to Xinjiang to demonstrate that the Uighur people are in good hands under Chinese rule.

Despite India's unspoken support for China on the re-education camps dispute, India has been frustrated by China's handling of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (a BRI), citing concerns about "sovereignty" and "territorial integrity." In general, India's relationship with China has been flexible. Although India has expressed concern about the BRI's potential to place unsustainable debt burdens on its neighbors, enabling China to gain greater control of the region, it has also sought closer relations with China.

Nevertheless, India is wary of China's generally warm ties with Pakistan, India's main rival; at the same time, the United States has looked to India to provide a regional counterbalance to Chinese influence.

BANGLADESH

Bangladesh, which has the world's fourth-largest Muslim population, has remained silent on the topic of Xinjiang's re-education camps, likely to maintain its political and economic links with China. Bangladesh is a significant strategic partner in China's Belt and Road Initiative.Bangladesh is a significant strategic partner in China's Belt and Road Initiative. Bangladesh did not sign the letter endorsing China's human rights policies, nor did it enter the call for an investigation into the treatment of Uighurs in the Xinjiang region at the United Nations Human Rights Council. When 7 Muslims fled violence in Myanmar in 2017, they sought asylum in Bangladesh's Rohingya Re-education Camps in China's Xinjiang Province; Bangladesh now has the world's largest refugee settlement.

POLAND On the question of educational camps in Xinjiang, Poland has remained somewhat

neutral. Poland is one of the few European partners of the Belt and Road Project, and a railway service linking Chendu and Lodz in central Poland was launched as part of the initiative. It has become a common logistics route for China to trade with Europe, as well as the quickest direct freight route between the two countries. Chinese news organizations have also stated that the railroad has helped Poland's economy.

GERMANY

Germany suspended the deportation of Uighurs to their homeland of China in September 2018. Then, in November, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas paid a visit to China, calling for greater accountability over the Chinese government's detention of Uighur Muslims. Germany chastised China at a closed-door UN Security Council meeting in July 2019 for depriving the ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims of their human rights. This prompted China's UN ambassador to reply, claiming that Germany and the United States had no right to put this issue before the Security Council because it should be handled within their own country. Germany joined a letter to the UN criticizing China on the subject, which was signed by 21 other countries.

ITALY

Italy is the first member of the Group of Seven (G7) to sign the BRI, as well as the largest EU member. Trieste, Genoa, and Palermo are three Italian cities where Chinese investors have agreed to invest in port infrastructure. Despite its Belt Road Initiative alliance with China, Italy was one of 22 countries to sign a letter to the UN condemning China's use of reeducation camps.

FRANCE

France is one of 22 countries that signed a declaration in mid-2019 urging China to avoid violating human rights in Xinjiang. France has a long tradition of emphasizing the value of human rights security, and it has been outspoken on the subject of Xinjiang reeducation camps, calling for the release of those who have been detained.In view of China's Belt and Road Initiative, the French president has also requested "reciprocity" and "equal and fair trade."

NETHERLANDS

In a letter to the United Nations, the Netherlands, along with 22 other countries, called for the release of Muslims held in re-education camps. Some of the approximately 1,500 Uighurs in the Netherlands have called on their government to take tougher action after being

threatened by Chinese officials over the internet, according to a Dutch newspaper published in July 2019.

People in the Netherlands also protested when Li Kequiang, the Premier of the People's Republic of China's State Council, visited the Netherlands in October 2018 to drum up support for the BRI; however, with Europe's sixth-largest GDP, the Dutch Prime Minister has expressed both cautious interest in the BRI and some concern about accountability.

UNITED KINGDOM

People in the Netherlands also protested when Li Kequiang, the Premier of the People's Republic of China's State Council, visited the Netherlands in October 2018 to drum up support for the BRI; however, with Europe's sixth-largest GDP, the Dutch Prime Minister has expressed both cautious interest in the BRI and some concern about accountability. During the main annual session of the Human Rights Council in February 2019, the UK joined Turkey in expressing deep concern about "persecution of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang." Camps for re-education in China's Xinjiang Province 8.

AUSTRALIA

The Australian government has called for the release of those detained in Xinjiang Province and has expressed grave concern about the use of re-education camps. Diplomats representing the Australian government in China have been refused entry to Xinjiang Province, and China has thwarted other efforts by Australia to provide consular assistance to dual citizens.

China reports that Australia was one of the countries that turned down an invitation to visit Xinjiang, but Australia denies this and says it will keep working to gain access to the region and express its concerns through the HRC. Concerns have been expressed by Australian people about relatives who have gone missing in Xinjiang Province.Since they have previously sourced cotton from Xinjiang, a number of well-known Australian apparel companies have announced that they would investigate their supply chain.

NORTH KOREA

North Korea, including Russia, is one of the 35 nations that officially signed the letter in support of China. North Korea's most powerful ally and one of the country's few trading partners is China. While their ties have been strained at times, the two countries have recently recommitted to closer cooperation and increased military exchanges.

JAPAN

While Japan has not officially joined the Belt Road Initiative, it has pledged to invest $110 billion in Asian infrastructure projects. Japan's government has promised to collaborate with China on projects in third-world countries and has pushed for collaboration between the

Belt Road Initiative and regional investment banks including the Asian Development Bank. Japan has, however, signed the letter criticizing the actions that the Chinese government is taking on the Uighurs in Xinjiang.

PHILIPPINES

Despite the fact that the UN's Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled against many of China's historical claims and upheld the Philippines' interests, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has largely avoided enraging China over contested territories in the South China Sea by simply not raising the issue. After his election in 2016, Duterte has visited China many times, but he has faced domestic criticism for caving in to China's demands.

There are indications that Manila could adopt a tougher stance toward China in the future. In his domestic politics, Duterte has taken a tough stance against drugs and has high approval ratings; however, in a study released in June 2019, the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights accused him of eroding democratic institutions and restricting press freedoms through his crackdown on dissent.The Philippines was a signatory to a letter expressing support for China's counterterrorism efforts in Xinjiang as well as its human rights achievements.

MYANMAR

In response to allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang, Myanmar signed a letter of support for China. Myanmar has been a part of China's Belt and Road Initiative since its inception. Myanmar's State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said at the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in April 2019 that her country will continue to participate in future ventures. Myanmar has received widespread criticism for its government's brutality against the Rohingya Muslim minority. China has offered not only economic aid but also political support by vetoing attempts by other Security Council members to compel Myanmar to bring those responsible for the Rohingya attacks to justice.

China has also sponsored the repatriation of Rohingya refugees and taken measures to promote peaceful dialogue between countries and groups affected by ethnic violence and the subsequent refugee crisis, like Bangladesh. China is the only country willing to provide Myanmar with economic, political, and military assistance.

THAILAND

China has put pressure on governments to return Uighurs who have fled the country, and Thailand forcibly repatriated over 100 Uighurs to China in 2015. Thailand has not signed a letter opposing or endorsing China's re-education camp policies. Despite declarations from both China and Thailand expressing a desire for collaboration, work on China's BRI projects in Thailand has been frequently postponed due to Thailand's Re-education Camps in China's Xinjiang Province 9 concerns about loan agreements, land rights, and questions about commercial viability.

EGYPT

The Suez Canal is the only maritime access and link between Africa and Asia, making Egypt a focal point in the BRI. With China's interest in Egypt's position, Egypt and China's relationship has evolved into a commercial partnership.

Egypt was part of a group of countries that signed a letter claiming that the accusations leveled against China are false. Egypt has traditionally attempted to establish good ties with China and Russia over the past few decades, while still attempting to maintain vital alliances with the United States and Persian Gulf allies.

SAUDI ARABIA

While on an official visit to China to sign agreements on 35 joint ventures worth 28 billion dollars, including a $10 billion oil contract, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince reportedly told Chinese State Television that "China has the right to carry out anti-terrorism and de-extremization work for its national security."

Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner is China, and the Crown Prince has said that the Belt and Road Initiative would help the kingdom shift away from its reliance on oil.

DJIBOUTI

Djibouti is home to a number of foreign military bases, including Chinese and American bases. Despite its small scale, it has become a strategically important location in the Horn of Africa and across the Arabian Peninsula due to its location at the Suez Canal's entrance. Djibouti's lack of natural resources has made this location a major source of revenue for the government.

China has funded a railway, constructed a pipeline to provide safe drinking water, aided anti-piracy efforts in the region, and offered to mediate the Djibouti-Eritrea border dispute. The presence of China has raised concerns about its diplomatic intentions, and the ventures have left Djibouti with a significant debt burden. At the same time, Djibouti has been embroiled in legal disputes with UAE and Chinese state-owned enterprises. Djibouti entered the letter late to express support for China's policies in Xinjiang, praising China's efforts to combat terrorism in the region.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

1955 The Uighurs briefly proclaimed independence from the rest of China in the early 1900s, but in 1949, the region was brought under the rule of China's new Communist government, which instituted policies to regulate the region's minorities. Xinjiang province was formally designated as a Chinese autonomous

region in 1955.

July 2009 Riots erupt in Urumqi, Xinjiang's regional capital, killing at least 200 people, the majority of whom are Han Chinese. In the years that followed, violent attacks blamed on Xinjiang separatists continued, causing the Chinese government to crack down on Muslims in Xinjiang.

October 28, 2013 In Tiananmen Square, a car crashes into a crowd, killing three people inside the vehicle, two visitors, and another male resident. There were 38 people injured in total. The driver was identified as an Uighur by Chinese officials, who blamed the attack on the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a separatist party based in Xinjiang. In Xinjiang, the government's crackdown on Muslims is intensifying.

March 1, 2014 Xinjiang separatists have been blamed for yet another terrorist attack, this time in Kunming, China. Knives and machetes were used by the attackers, who killed 29 people and wounded 130 more.

May 2014 In Xinjiang, the Strike Hard Campaign Against Violent Terrorism is launched. The Strike Hard Campaign Against Violence Terrorism is "the Chinese government's response to rising tensions between Han Chinese and the Uighur population of Xinjiang itself, the recruitment of Uighurs to fight in the Syrian civil war," according to Foreign Policy magazine.

April 1, 2017 China's first formal anti-extremism law was passed by the Xinjiang People's Congress (local government). Its aim is to recognise and discourage extremist activities like full-face coverings and long beards, refusing to watch state television, and pressuring people to avoid socializing with people from other ethnic groups.

August 2018 The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is concerned about credible estimates that at least a million ethnic Uighurs are detained and up to twice that number are subjected to forced reeducation.

October 10, 2018 The Xinjiang People's Congress has passed a new piece of local legislation called the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region Deextremification Regulation. This law gives the Xinjiang government the legal authority to deal with any activity it deems "extremist," greatly broadening the scope of extremism.

February 4, 2019 Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other human rights and civil society groups sign a joint statement calling for a Xinjiang resolution at the United Nations Human

Rights Council.

June 15, 2019 At the conclusion of his three-day visit to Xinjiang, Vladimir Voronkov, the UN's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, issues a statement. He makes no mention of the issue of human rights. Human rights organizations have slammed the move, describing it as a propaganda gift to the Chinese government.

July 2019 Two coalitions sent opposing letters to the UN Human Rights Council president and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights this month, condemning or endorsing China's Xinjiang policies.

July 30, 2019 The majority of Muslims in reeducation camps have been released, according to top officials in Xinjiang's regional government. The announcement, according to exiled Uighurs and US State Department spokespeople, is ambiguous and unverifiable. They are also concerned that this could mark the start of a new period of incarceration in which those who have been allegedly released remain incarcerated.

PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS TO SOLVE THE ISSUE

● In August 2018, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reviewed a study on China. In this article, UN experts expressed grave concern about racial discrimination in anti-terrorism legislation, which disproportionately target Uighurs and other ethnic minorities. Evidence of "mass surveillance disproportionately targeting ethnic Uighurs" concerned the committee.

● October 2018 Resolution Condemning Persecution of Religious Minorities in the People's Republic of China (S.RES.667). The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations released this resolution condemning the persecution and mistreatment of Uighurs in the Xinjiang region, as well as acts that "limit their free speech and practice of faith."

● The resolution also reaffirms the United States' pledge to encourage and preserve religious freedom, urges the PRC government to recognize the human right to freedom of religion, opposes restrictions on religious materials, and strongly condemns the use of reeducation camps, internment camps, or concentration camps.

● In February 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a joint statement calling for a resolution on Xinjiang. Multiple human rights groups released a statement urging the United Nations Human Rights Council to pass a resolution on the Xinjiang reeducation camps.The statement claims that, despite claiming that its "Strike Hard Campaign" is aimed at combating extremism and terrorism, the Chinese

government is simply trying to "eradicate Muslim's distinct identity and ensure their allegiance to the government and Chinese Communist Party." It also recommends that the Human Rights Council conduct a "fact-finding mission" so that it can consider reports of systematic abuses in Xinjiang and take effective next steps.

● March 2019 statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, demanded access to Xinjiang in March 2019 to “verify” the “worrying reports [she] is receiving” of re-education camps housing millions of Uighurs.She has also confirmed that she "wishes to engage China in a serious dialogue on this pressing issue" and that she "will continue to press for permission to visit Xinjiang as soon as possible." Since then, China has urged Bachelet to "respect China's sovereignty."

● 2019/2690 Resolution on China, especially the situation of religious and ethnic minorities (RSP). With a resolution on China and the situation of religious and ethnic minorities adopted in April 2019, the European Union took a firm stand on the existing circumstances of the Uighurs in Xinjiang.The resolution acknowledges human rights violations in Xinjiang, noting that the Chinese government has "intensified its hostility" to "freedoms of speech and religion." The resolution "demands that the Chinese government cease the practice of arbitrary detentions immediately." It also calls for the release of information on the missing people in Xinjiang, as well as a halt to all exports of technology that aids China's cyber surveillance. In April 2019, the European Parliament issued a press release in which it urged the Chinese government to "put an end to arbitrary detentions, without charge, trial, or prosecution for a criminal offense of members of the Uyghur and Kazakh minority and Tibetans."

● Some participants characterized a closed-door meeting of the Security Council on the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia in July 2019 as a heated exchange. It was immediately followed by a formal condemnation of China's mass imprisonment of Muslims in a letter to the United Nations signed by 22 predominantly Western countries. China's allies responded to this letter with a second letter to the UN. See the July 2019 timeline entry for a list of which countries joined the coalition condemning China's actions, which joined the coalition supporting China's actions, and which have remained neutral.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

1. DENYING EXPORTSNations could directly reduce the amount of influence the Chinese government has

over the Uighurs in the Xinjiang region by refusing exports of technologies (and other items) that could be used to continue the abuse of targeted groups in the Xinjiang region by denying

exports of technologies (and other items) that could be used to continue the abuse of targeted groups in the Xinjiang region. This would secure their online privacy as well as their freedom of movement.

2. INVESTIGATIONS BY THE UNA UN fact-finding mission would have more legitimacy than a small group of

journalists traveling to Xinjiang and reporting on the situation there.

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