The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday refused to open an inquiry into allegations of genocide against Uyghur Muslims in China, but it did open the file.
Why this is important: This means that Chinese authorities could submit further evidence of alleged genocide against Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in northwest China’s Xinjiang, and the ICC may open a further investigation.
Messaging: I.C.
- But Rodney Dixon, the lead lawyer in the case against China, told the Guardian that “I hope the ICC will take up this investigation.”
- “We will provide the most relevant evidence to allow this to happen in the coming months,” Dixon added.
Note: In 2019, the ICC approved an investigation into crimes against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
- Myanmar is not a member of the ICC. However, the hack-based court said it had the power to investigate because some of the crimes allegedly took place in Bangladesh were approved by the ICC Rome Act in 2010.
Large image: Chinese authorities have detained 2 million Uyghurs in “re-education camps” since 2017. They deny that any abuse has taken place and claim that they are being used to divert extremism. But evidence has emerged to support allegations of torture, forced contraception and other abuse.
- There is growing global condemnation of China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. At the United Nations in October, 39 countries, including the United States, condemned Beijing for human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
In the United States, The Trump administration has imposed measures including allowing Chinese Communist Party officials, while President-elect Biden has called the repression “genocide.”
Read the ICC report through the Document Cloud:
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