Jasna Causevic is a member of the Society for Threatened Peoples/STP/Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker /GfbV/, Göttingen, Germany. She is the consultant of the Genocide issue at STP. She presented this speech at the Uyghur-Chinese non-governmental international online Conference on 25.4.2021
Hello, everyone
Universal human rights have powerful enemies and probably the most powerful of these today is the People’s Republic of China under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party.
We at STP agree with the conclusions of the Newlines Institute report that violations of the human rights of the Uighurs and other ethnic groups in East Turkistan amount to genocide
We are pressing Germany and the EU to condemn China’s genocidal treatment of its minorities and to impose sanctions on those responsible.
We are also urging companies doing business with China not to collude with genocide. At least 83 major international corporations from the technology, textile and motor vehicle sectors are profiting from forced labour in China. There have been reports of brutal mistreatment, including sexual violence, involving European companies, German firms in particular, whose factories have access to cheap labour and raw materials in Xinjiang. VW, BASF and Siemens have manufacturing facilities in Xinjiang, and prominent European brands including Zara and Adidas, and many others, market products made from Chinese cotton, mostly from Xinjiang. Apart from H&M none of these companies has shown any serious concern for human rights.
Challenging the Chinese government on human rights issues is a daunting task but we should at least be trying to protect minorities instead of profiting from their suffering.
The forms of effective action that different countries and different organisations will find appropriate may vary, but it is essential that we all support one another. We must work together to safeguard universal human rights and defend democratic principles.
What STP is doing
– We document and publicise evidence of genocidal crimes in Xinjiang and support witnesses in discussions with Members of the German Federal Parliament and the European Parliament.
– Despite efforts at intimidation by Chinese diplomats, we continue to provide the UN Human Rights Council and the German Federal Government with regular written and oral reports on the situation in Xinjiang .
– We have called on Germany, the EU and the international community to encourage national prosecutors to initiate preliminary investigations (similar to ICC preliminary examinations) and to facilitate the prosecution of Chinese officials implicated in crimes against humanity, based on the principle of universal jurisdiction.
– We are urging the German government to seek the adoption by the United Nations Human Rights Council of a resolution to create a Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations and allegations of genocide in Xinjiang.
– We are also urging Germany to encourage the People’s Republic to sign and ratify the International Convention on Civil and Human Rights and the ILO Convention on Forced Labour.
– We are organising public protests against the Chinese government’s efforts to involve Western democratic institutions and governments in propaganda exercises such as the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. We are calling for a high-level boycott of the opening ceremony celebrations.
– We have urged the International Olympic Committee to take a stand and we have held discussions with the German Athletes’ Association.
– We have campaigned hard for supply chain regulation. Germany will shortly be introducing legislation that requires companies to ensure their products have been produced under fair and decent conditions.
– We are urging German companies not to sponsor the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Thank you!
- The Chinese version of this speech can be read at:
- https://sinoeurovoices.com/%e5%85%a8%e7%90%83%e9%97%9c%e6%b3%a8%e7%b6%ad%e5%90%be%e7%88%be%e4%ba%ba%e9%81%ad%e9%81%87%e3%80%8c%e7%a8%ae%e6%97%8f%e6%bb%85%e7%b5%95%e3%80%8d%ef%bc%88%e4%b8%ad%e7%af%87%ef%bc%89/
