Uighurs in China: France denounces an “institutionalized system of repression”

“From the Chinese region of Xinjiang come to us testimonies and corroborating documents which show unjustifiable practices against the Uighurs and a system of institutionalized surveillance and repression on a large scale”, he declared during an intervention by videoconference.

China’s denial

China, for its part, on Monday praised socio-economic development in Xinjiang and Tibet as a “shining example” of China’s progress in human rights. According to studies by American and Australian institutes, at least one million Uighurs have been interned in “camps” in Xinjiang and some have been subjected to “forced labor” or “forced sterilizations”.

China categorically denies the last two accusations and claims that the camps are “vocational training centers” intended to keep the population away from religious extremism and separatism, after numerous deadly attacks against civilians by Uighurs.

Criticism of Belarus and Syria

The head of French diplomacy also deplored a “series of considerable regressions for human rights” from Belarus where “the democratic aspiration of a people was swept away by violence” to Syria, where the president ” Bashar al-Assad continues to wage war on his people, with the help of his allies ”.

He also recalled the attempt to poison Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny “with a military grade nerve agent manufactured by Russia”. “After having come close to death, Alexeï Navalny is now in prison”, he underlined.