Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Paragraph: 23
The collection and preservation of evidence will be essential for future accountability for these crimes.
Recommendation
The collection and preservation of evidence will be essential for future accountability for these crimes. We recommend that the Government allocate funding for the creation of an international mechanism for collecting evidence on the crimes in Xinjiang, and provides further resources to help locate and record the details of those who have gone missing under the Chinese Communist Party’s internment system so that they do not remain nameless victims.
Paragraph Reference:
23
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government recognises the importance of collecting rigorous and credible evidence of the human rights violations occurring in Xinjiang. Evidence is used to inform Government policy, raise international awareness, and shine a spotlight on China’s actions. Government funded research has already made a significant contribution to international understanding and awareness of the situation in Xinjiang. This has included reports published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) on the administration of “re-education camps” in Xinjiang, published in October 2021, and on the use of Uyghur forced labour in factories, “Uyghurs for Sale”, published in March 2020. We also provided financial assistance for a recent report published by the Rights Practice, “Criminal Law and Deprivation of Liberty in Xinjiang”. We will continue to fund similar research. British diplomats also regularly visit Xinjiang, most recently in April 2021, to gain the latest insights of the situation on the ground. We have also used our diplomatic network to raise awareness of the human rights situation in Xinjiang among third countries, and engaged the media, business, civil society, and academic stakeholders. Rigorous independent research is particularly important in documenting available evidence, as well as increasing transparency and holding China to account. Creating an international mechanism through the UN to collect evidence, however, would require a resolution at the Security Council, General Assembly or the Human Rights Council. If such a mechanism were to be established, we would consider at that time whether to provide funding to support it.