To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations his Department has made to the Chinese authorities on the ongoing detention of Uyghur Muslims in the north-eastern region of Xinjiang during the covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement.
Answered on
8 June 2020
On 9 March, the Foreign Secretary raised our concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, including the extra-judicial detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in "political re-education camps", with his Chinese counterpart. During the UK's 'Item 4' statement at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council on 10 March, the UK raised concerns about systematic human rights violations and reports of forced labour in Xinjiang.