All Reading
This section contains a curated list of useful articles, investigations, books and other reading materials. The list is updated on a weekly basis and suggestions for additions are welcome.
Starting Points:
How Vinyl Flooring Made With Uyghur Forced Labor Ends Up at Big Box Stores
A new report details the toll taken by the flooring industry, painting a devastating picture of oppression and pollution in the Uyghur region.
Uyghurs Say the United Nations Is Failing Them
As Michelle Bachelet drags her feet on a UN report on Xinjiang, her silence has drawn new scrutiny to China’s growing influence in the UN, which experts fear is undermining the credibility of the international body itself.
Bachelet won’t seek 2nd term as UN human rights chief
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said she will not seek a new four-year term, after a tenure that has been recently overshadowed by criticism of her response to China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in western Xinjiang.
China must address grave human rights concerns and enable credible international investigation: UN experts
Ahead of the 50th session of the Human Rights Council, a group of UN experts today urged the Chinese government to grant unhindered access to independent experts regarding allegations of significant human rights violations and repression of fundamental freedoms in the country.
Fury at UN human rights chief over ‘whitewash’ of Uyghur repression
Dozens of scholars have accused the UN human rights chief of having ignored or contradicted academic findings on abuses in Xinjiang with her statements on the region. In an open letter published this week, academics called on Michelle Bachelet to release a long-awaited UN report on human rights abuses in China.
Long Shadows: How the Global Economy Supports Oppression in Xinjiang
This report uncovers how companies perpetrating forced labor and human rights abuses in Xinjiang are enmeshed in global trade and finance despite severe multilateral sanctions designed to cut them off from international markets.
Unemployment Monitoring and Early Warning: New Trends in Xinjiang’s Coercive Labor Placement Systems
This new report charts concerning new trends in Xinjiang forced labor as the region now mandates "every able-bodied person to achieve stable employment," and keeps transferred Uyghurs in their place through an unemployment monitoring/surveillance system.
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Mandates Supply Chain Due Diligence
A big change is coming for companies and brands that source anything from China. Within a few weeks, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) will come into effect. The law is a direct response to the widespread, well-documented reports of crimes against humanity in the Uyghur regions — and the fact that the reactions from most global brands to the issue have been, to put it lightly, disappointing.
West demands publication of UN’s long-awaited Xinjiang report
Pressure to release a long-awaited Xinjiang report is mounting on the UN’s rights head, as her recent six-day visit to China left activists, western governments and commentators unsatisfied. In a press conference on Saturday, Bachelet promised to “follow up” on instances of China’s human rights abuse.
Opinion - The U.N. human rights chief has failed us, our families — and the world
U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet faced her most important test last week — and she failed miserably. Her visit to China in May — as the world waited for her to release a long-overdue U.N. report on human rights abuses in the Uyghur homeland — summarily undercut more than five years of efforts by Uyghur activists and our allies to tell the world what is happening to our people.
Leaked photos of Uyghurs interned at Xinjiang detention centres 'devastating,' says activist
Photos recently published online showing thousands of Uyghurs detained as part of China's secretive mass detention system in Xinjiang region have terrified Turnisa Matsedik-Qira. The nurse and deputy director of Campaign for Uyghurs in British Columbia lost contact with family members in the area four years ago. Now, she fears finding images of a relative or friend in the leaked database.
The Xinjiang Police Files Should Prompt Action Against Uyghur Genocide
Looking through the photos of the 2,884 inmates in the Xinjiang Police Files is not for the faint of heart. You scroll – as you would on Instagram – past face after face of a people unjustly detained by the Chinese government for no other reason than that they are Uyghur.
UN’s Bachelet says China trip not for a probe, faces criticism
The UN human rights chief has defended her China trip as she was accused of failing to hold Beijing accountable for its alleged human rights abuses, saying she raised concerns with officials about the treatment of Uighur Muslims in the country.
China: UN visit falls short of addressing crimes against humanity in Xinjiang
Amnesty International condemned United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet’s six-day visit to China as “a highly predictable propaganda exercise for the Chinese government.”
Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet after official visit to China
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet’s full statement from the virtual press conference held at the conclusion of her official six-day visit to China.
UN human rights chief asks China to rethink Uyghur policies
Michelle Bachelet, a top U.N. human rights official who recently visited Xinjiang, raised concerns with Chinese officials about the impact of measures on the rights of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim groups.
Uyghur voices in Istanbul
A Uyghur couple turns to music — inspired by the songs and poems of their culture — in response to the crisis in their homeland.
VW Under Fire for Ongoing Operations in Xinjiang
Volkswagen continues to operate a factory in the heart of Xinjiang, despite massive criticism from human rights activists. Is the company trying to prove its loyalty to the Chinese government?
Public Security Minister’s Speech Describes Xi Jinping’s Direction of Mass Detentions in Xinjiang
An internal Chinese government document provides new support for the extraordinary scale of internment during what was likely its peak in 2018 and 2019. The document, a transcript of an internal June 15, 2018 speech by Minister of Public Security Zhao, reinforces the plausibility of previous detention estimates and is one of many documents leaked as part of the Xinjiang Police Files.
The Xinjiang Police Files: Re-Education Camp Security and Political Paranoia in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
Previously, witnesses and leaked state documents outlined the securitised nature of China’s re-education facilities. Now, the “Xinjiang Police Files,” a major cache of classified files from internal XUAR police networks, provides an unprecedented inside view. This article authenticates and contextualises the Xinjiang Police Files within the growing field of published internal XUAR government documents.