René Cassin Briefing Paper – May 2020
Close to three million Muslim Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic communities in East Turkistan, the Chinese North western region of Xinjiang, are forced to deny their religion and culture in ‘re-education’ camps set up by the Chinese Government.

Uyghur women and young girls are suffering disproportionately under China’s system of repression against ethnic groups in East Turkestan. Personal testimonies from former detainees reveal that women are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence in camps, likely to constitute ‘crimes against humanity’ and ‘genocide’ under international law. While women make up only a quarter of the roughly three million Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in camps, the adverse effects of gender-based violence in the region raise concerns for the human rights of women and girls in the region.
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