Thank you for contacting me about Uyghur Muslims in China.
I share your concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the Chinese Government's deepening crackdown on Uyghur Muslims, including the extra-judicial detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in “political re-education camps”.
I welcome that, in March, the Foreign Secretary directly raised these concerns with his Chinese counterpart and the UK used its national statement to raise concerns about systematic human rights violations and reports of forced labour in Xinjiang.
I join my colleagues in Government in urging China to implement important UN recommendations to end the practice of extra-judicial detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, and to allow UN observers unfettered access to the region.
The risk of the spread of Covid-19 in places of detention is a matter of concern in a number of countries around the world, including in China. I am told that the Government is aware of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom report on Covid-19 and will consider its findings.
