Truss condemns

Truss condemns ‘shocking’ Uyghur targeting following document leak

UK foreign secretary Liz Truss has issued a statement condemning human rights violations in China following a major document leak.

Conservative MP Nusrat Ghani has tabled an urgent question regarding the BBC’s claims that China operates a shoot-to-kill policy against Uyghurs who attempt escape from prison.

The leak comes alongside the arrival of United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet in China for a six-day trip.

Truss said this morning: “Today, further shocking details of China’s human rights violations in Xinjiang have emerged, which add to the already extensive body of evidence from Chinese government documents, first-hand testimony, satellite imagery and visits by our own diplomats to the region.

“New evidence shows the extraordinary scale of China’s targeting of Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities, including forced labour, severe restrictions on freedom of religion, the separation of parents from their children, forced birth control, and mass incarceration.”

Around 1 million Uyghur Muslims are estimated to be imprisoned in Chinese “re-education” camps, where they are subject to human rights violations.

Truss stressed that “the UK stands with our international partners in calling out China’s appalling persecution of Uyghur Muslims and other minorities. We remain committed to holding China to account.

“We reiterate our longstanding expectation that China grants the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights full and unfettered access to the region so that she can conduct a thorough assessment of the facts on the ground, and we are following her visit this week closely.

“If such access is not forthcoming, the visit will only serve to highlight China’s attempts to hide the truth of its actions in Xinjiang.”