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The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has released its weekly brief highlighting its international advocacy efforts, using major global platforms in Japan and Europe to draw attention to what it describes as Beijing's continuing genocide, forced labour practices, and transnational repression targeting Uyghurs from East Turkistan.
During a three-day advocacy visit to Stockholm from June 26 to 28, senior representatives of the WUC and affiliated organisations met Swedish officials, lawmakers, and civil society representatives to discuss the human rights situation in East Turkistan. The delegation included WUC President Turghunjan Alawdun, Vice President Zumretay Arkin, Uyghur Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (UZDM) President Dolkun Isa, and Sweden Uyghur Union President Bahtinor Abdurehim. The delegation held discussions with Sweden's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Member of Parliament Yusuf Aydin, and PEN Sweden, arguing that China's newly implemented Ethnic Unity Law further institutionalises policies they describe as cultural assimilation and repression targeting Uyghurs. They also highlighted concerns over detained Uyghur intellectuals and later joined a community event commemorating the legacy of Uyghur poet, writer, and activist Kuresh Kosen. The campaign continued in Paris, where Dolkun Isa attended the 9th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, held from June 30 to July 2. Addressing delegates, Isa drew attention to Uyghur political prisoners who, according to advocacy groups, remain at risk of receiving death sentences within China's judicial system. China's Ethnic Unity Law officially came into force on July 1, prompting coordinated protests by Uyghur organisations and their allies in cities including Berlin, Brussels, London, Washington, DC, Sydney, Tokyo, Zurich, and Los Angeles. In the United States, 14 bipartisan members of the House of Representatives urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to publicly condemn the legislation. Separately, on July 2, WUC Vice President Zumretay Arkin participated in a panel at the University of Zurich examining transnational repression and the challenges democracies face when authoritarian governments seek to intimidate or silence diaspora communities beyond their borders. (ANI)
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