Uyghurs: UK lawmakers declare China’s treatment is genocide

London CNN — British lawmakers have unanimously declared China’s ongoing crackdown in Xinjiang a genocide, joining the United States, Canada and the Netherlands in condemning Beijing’s actions against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the far-west region in the strongest possible terms. Following a debate on Thursday, the House of Commons passed unopposed a non-binding resolution condemning “mass human rights abuses and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region.” “Today’s vote must mark a turning point. “That this government is pursuing deeper trade ties with China while these abuses continue is unthinkable.” Introducing the motion Thursday, Conservative lawmaker Nusrat Ghani told lawmakers that “while we must never misuse the term genocide, we must not fail to use it when it’s warranted.” Governments insist that genocide can only be determined by competent courts, said Ghani, but “every route to a court is blocked by China.” “Our government is handcuffed, paralyzed by the United Nations. In a recent statement, China’s foreign ministry warned the UK “not go further down the wrong path” in regard to action over Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and reiterated its determination to safeguard its “national sovereignty, security and development interests.” ‘Interrogate the evidence’ Per the United Nations Genocide Convention – to which China is a signatory – genocide is an attempt to commit acts “with an intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national,, racial or religious group.” There are five ways in which genocide can take place, according to the convention: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; or forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. At the United Nations it is impossible to get through to the International Court of Justice, it is impossible to get through to the International Criminal Court as China is not a signatory to that and therefore will not obey that.” Sanctioned by China Ghani – who has been working to raise concerns over the treatment of Uyghurs in China – was among a number of British lawmakers sanctioned by China last month for having “maliciously spread lies and disinformation” in relation to Xinjiang’s human rights issues.