A group of US senators proposes to find China guilty of "
genocide
" of Uyghurs and other Turkish-speaking Muslim communities victims of massive repression in western China.
The resolution was tabled by elected officials from both parties, but it is unlikely to be approved quickly as the US Senate is on parliamentary recess until the November 3 presidential election.
Read also: The United States will block products from “forced labor” of Uyghurs
The text states that China's campaign of repression "
against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and members of other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region constitutes genocide
."
“
This resolution recognizes these crimes for what they are and it represents the first step in holding China to account for its monstrous acts
,” said Senator John Cornyn in introducing it.
Democrat Jeff Merkley noted that this text would show that the United States "
cannot remain silent
".
“
China's attacks on Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups - surveillance, imprisonment, torture and forced 're-education camps' - are outright genocide
,” he added.
Human rights groups say more than a million Uyghurs are held in camps in Xinjiang.
Beijing denies this figure and speaks of vocational training centers, intended to help the population to find a job and thus to move away from the temptation of Islamism and terrorism.
Read also: Uyghurs: pass of arms between the Chinese embassy and MEPs including Glucksmann
Several American administrations have hesitated in recent years to use the term "
genocide
" which has legal consequences, in particular because the UN convention on genocide obliges member states to prevent and punish it.
Recently referring to the situation in Xinjiang, White House National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien ruled that "
if it is not genocide, it is close
".
The Democratic candidate for the White House Joe Biden, favorite in the polls against Donald Trump, speaks for his part of genocide and has promised a firm response if he is elected.
The UN defines genocide as a crime committed "
with intent to destroy, or all or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group
", including by measures "
aimed at preventing births within the group.
".
But Beijing is accused of massive sterilizations in the camps and of forcing minority women to abort.