The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region lies in far Western China and is of strategic importance. The Belt and Road Initiative runs through it, and the Chinese government is pouring millions of dollars into the area for both development and security. However, the government is violating the rights of millions of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups who call Xinjiang home. Ubiquitous surveillance, thousands of extrajudicial detention facilities, and large-scale forced labor are just some of the tactics the government is using in an effort to stamp out dissent and secure the region. Xinjiang presents one of the direst human rights situations in the world, but how can multilateral institutions, governments, companies, and we as consumers start to shift such practices? It’s a thorny question with no single answer. Amy Lehr, Director and Senior Fellow of the CSIS Human Rights Initiative, will take us through past case studies and policy options to point to potential ways forward.
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The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region lies in far Western China and is of strategic importance. The Belt and Road Initiative runs through it, and the Chinese government is pouring millions of dollars into the area for both development and security. However, the government is violating the rights of millions of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups who call Xinjiang home. Ubiquitous surveillance, thousands of extrajudicial detention facilities, and large-scale forced labor are just some of the tactics the government is using in an effort to stamp out dissent and secure the region. Xinjiang presents one of the direst human rights situations in the world, but how can multilateral institutions, governments, companies, and we as consumers start to shift such practices? It’s a thorny question with no single answer. Amy Lehr, Director and Senior Fellow of the CSIS Human Rights Initiative, will take us through past case studies and policy options to point to potential ways forward.
To discuss potential solutions for Uyghur persecution in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, we first need to examine just who the Uyghur people are and the dire human rights situation that they face. Nury Turkel and Adrian Zenz take Amy to the cotton fields, labor camps, and workshops of China as they answer the important questions of how and why. How is the Chinese government surveilling and oppressing the Uyghur people, and why are they doing so?
Nury Turkel is a Commissioner to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). He founded the Uyghur Human Rights Project. In September 2020, Turkel was named one of the TIME 100 Most Influential People in the World.
Adrian Zenz is a Cambridge-educated academic who lectures at a European theological institution and is a senior fellow in China studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
Follow This Thread: Made in Xinjiang?
The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region lies in far Western China and is of strategic importance. The Belt and Road Initiative runs through it, and the Chinese government is pouring millions of dollars into the area for both development and security. However, the government is violating the rights of millions of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups who call Xinjiang home. Ubiquitous surveillance, thousands of extrajudicial detention facilities, and large-scale forced labor are just some of the tactics the government is using in an effort to stamp out dissent and secure the region. Xinjiang presents one of the direst human rights situations in the world, but how can multilateral institutions, governments, companies, and we as consumers start to shift such practices? It’s a thorny question with no single answer. Amy Lehr, Director and Senior Fellow of the CSIS Human Rights Initiative, will take us through past case studies and policy options to point to potential ways forward.
