To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make a determination in relation to whether genocide is taking place in Xinjiang in light of recent evidence obtained from security forces operating in that region.
Answered on
6 June 2022
As the Foreign Secretary made clear in her statement of 24th May, these latest reports provide further shocking details of China's gross human rights violations in Xinjiang, adding to the already extensive body of evidence from Chinese government documents, first-hand testimony, satellite imagery and visits by our own diplomats to the region.
However, it remains the long-standing policy of the British Government not to make determinations in relation to genocide. Genocide is a crime and there must be no impunity for it. As with other crimes, judgment should be made after all available evidence has been considered by a competent court. The UK has led international efforts to hold China to account at the UN, imposed sanctions on senior Chinese government officials, and announced measures to help ensure no UK organisations are complicit in these violations through their supply chains. We will continue to act with our international partners to increase the pressure on China to change its behaviour.