The fate of the Uighurs was on Tuesday at the United Nations. Germany and a number of other countries have criticized China for its suppression of the Uighur minority. The Chinese government should "refrain from the arbitrary detention of Uighurs and members of other Muslim communities," said on Tuesday (local time) in a joint statement of the Federal Republic with the United States, Britain and 20 other states before the United Nations in New York.
There is also credible information about mass surveillance of the ethnic group and other human rights violations. It also hinders the practice of religion and cultural practices.
China must respect its national and international obligations to respect human rights and religious freedom, it said. German Ambassador to the UN Christoph Heusgen also called on Beijing to allow unified human rights commissioner Michelle Bachelet unrestricted access to facilities in the country.
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch estimates that in Xinjiang, western China, one million people are in "reeducation camps," most of them Uyghurs. They are ethnically related to the Turks and feel oppressed by the ruling Han Chinese. The Chinese leadership denies the allegations and speaks of "educational centers", which served the fight against Islamist radicalization.
After their takeover in Beijing in 1949, the Communists had incorporated the former East Turkestan China. The Beijing government accuses Uighur groups of separatism and terrorism.
Fifty states support a different explanation
The statement of the 23 countries was read to the Human Rights Committee of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday - its meeting on Tuesday focused on the elimination of racial discrimination. According to diplomats, Germany, together with the USA and Great Britain, was in charge of drafting. Other signatories include France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
In contrast, more than 50 states in a statement welcomed Belarus' s achievements in China in the fight against terrorism and in the "deradicalisation" in Xinjiang. China has made great progress on human rights. Among other things, this text was supported by Russia, Pakistan, Egypt and Serbia.
