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- Australia and New Zealand’s foreign ministers said this morning that there is “clear evidence” of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, China
- Marise Payne and New Zealand’s Nanaia Mahuta said in a joint statement that they were concerned by credible reports of abuse against ethnic Uighurs and other Muslim minorities
- The United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada all imposed sanctions on Monday
- China has denied all accusations of abuse and immediately hit back with punitive measures against the E.U.
- Activists and U.N. rights experts say at least one million Muslims have been detained in camps in Xinjiang
Australia and New Zealand’s foreign ministers said this morning that there is “clear evidence” of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, China, and welcomed sanctions imposed on Chinese officials by other Western countries.
Marise Payne and New Zealand’s Nanaia Mahuta said in a joint statement that they were concerned by credible reports of abuse against ethnic Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.
“In particular, there is clear evidence of severe human rights abuses that include restrictions on freedom of religion, mass surveillance, large-scale extra-judicial detentions, as well as forced labour and forced birth control, including sterilisation,” they said.
The United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada all imposed sanctions on Monday, representing the first coordinated Western action against Beijing under new U.S. President Joe Biden.
“Amid growing international condemnation, (China) continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in statement ahead of meetings with European Union and NATO ministers in Brussels this week.
China has denied all accusations of abuse and immediately hit back with punitive measures against the E.U. that seemed broader, extending to lawmakers, diplomats, institutes and families, and banning their businesses from trading with China.
Activists and U.N. rights experts say at least one million Muslims have been detained in camps in Xinjiang.
Those activists and some Western politicians have accused China of using torture, forced labour and sterilisations, but China says its camps provide vocational training and are needed to fight extremism.
