World Uyghur Congress marks Genocide Remembrance Day with protest in Geneva, urges international action
Dec 10, 2024
Geneva [Switzerland], December 10 : In a strong demonstration of solidarity and determination, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) organised a protest on December 9 in front of the Broken Chair monument near the United Nations in Geneva, marking Uyghur Genocide Remembrance Day. The protest highlighted the ongoing atrocities faced by the Uyghur Muslim minority in China's Xinjiang region and called for urgent international intervention.
In a post on X, WUC stated, "The protest sought to highlight the ongoing atrocities against Uyghurs and urged the international community to take meaningful action to address these crimes."
https://x.com/UyghurCongress/status/1866222754128900500
The WUC Youth Committee also urged global youth to take a stand against the persecution of Uyghurs. On X, WUC stated, "Youth from around the world gathered to remind the international community to break its silence and act now against the Uyghur genocide, emphasising that "Silence is Complicity". The World Uyghur Congress expressed gratitude to all those who raised their voices against the ongoing genocide of the Uyghur people on social media and other platforms."
https://x.com/UyghurCongress/status/1866222754128900500
Uyghur Genocide Remembrance Day is observed to honour the Uyghur people, an ethnic Turkic Muslim group primarily from the Xinjiang region in China. The day is meant to raise awareness about the ongoing atrocities that the Uyghur population has faced under the Chinese government's policies, including allegations of genocide, mass detention, forced labour, forced assimilation, and other human rights abuses.
In recent years, international attention has been drawn to the situation in Xinjiang, where millions of Uyghurs have reportedly been detained in "re-education camps," subjected to forced sterilisations, family separations, and intense surveillance. These actions have been described by several governments and human rights organisations as constituting genocide and crimes against humanity.
The Chinese government, however, denies these accusations, describing the camps as vocational training centres aimed at combating extremism and terrorism. International bodies, including the United Nations, human rights organisations, and some governments, have labeled the situation as an ongoing genocide or crimes against humanity.
