Who are the Uyghurs?
The Uyghurs are an ethno-linguistic group from Eastern and Central Asia. They are considered natives of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwest China. Although the Chinese government recognizes this group as a minority, distinct from the Ethnic Chinese majority, this distinction may actually be more detrimental than beneficial. At a time when many nations are advocating diversity and multiculturalism, the Uyghurs in China are facing intense discrimination, marginalization, and alleged abuse on behalf of the Chinese government.
The UN and the ICJ
The term genocide was coined and developed by Raphäel Lemkin, a Polish lawyer who studied not only the Nazi Holocaust, but also previous acts of genocide like those committed against Armenians in Turkey between 1915 and 1923, which Turkey still denied and which the United States only recent recognized as a ‘genocidal’ act. The term ‘genocide’ first emerged in 1944 and Lemkin pushed for it to become codified in the international legal system of the United Nations (UN). The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is a legal advisory branch of the UN that deliberates on world issues like genocide. Even so, like any other branch of the UN, its advice is non-binding on states, which means states are under no legal obligation to adhere to the recommendations of the or any other UN body for that matter.
What is Genocide?
According to the UN, genocide is:
Article II
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
- Killing members of the group;
- Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
- Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
- Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
- Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Elements of the crime
The Genocide Convention establishes in Article I that the crime of genocide may take place in the context of an armed conflict, international or non-international, but also in the context of a peaceful situation. The latter is less common but still possible. The same article establishes the obligation of the contracting parties to prevent and to punish the crime of genocide.
The popular understanding of what constitutes genocide tends to be broader than the content of the norm under international law. Article II of the Genocide Convention contains a narrow definition of the crime of genocide, which includes two main elements:
- A mental element: the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such”; and
- A physical element, which includes the following five acts, is enumerated exhaustively:
- Killing members of the group
- Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
- Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
- Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
- Forcibly transferring children from the group to another group
The intent is the most difficult element to determine. To constitute genocide, there must be a proven intent on the part of perpetrators to physically destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. Cultural destruction does not suffice, nor does an intention to simply disperse a group. It is this special intent, or dolus specialis, that makes the crime of genocide so unique. In addition, case law has associated intent with the existence of a state or organizational plan or policy, even if the definition of genocide in international law does not include that element.
Importantly, the victims of genocide are deliberately targeted – not randomly – because of their real or perceived membership of one of the four groups protected under the Convention (which excludes political groups, for example). This means that the target of destruction must be the group, as such, and not its members as individuals. Genocide can also be committed against only a part of the group, as long as that part is identifiable (including within a geographically limited area) and “substantial.” (https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/genocide.shtml)
The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
The definition and technical underpinnings of the term ‘genocide’ are outlined in what is known as the ‘Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.’ The resolution was passed unanimously in the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1948. The General Assembly is another major body of the UN. It includes all UN member states (193 countries) and provides and open platform for debate regarding pressing global issues like climate change. As with the ICJ, the resolutions passed by the UN are non-binding. If a country chooses to ratify a resolution, it does agree to the legal principles that it entails. Even so, these are grey-area issues, meaning that countries who ratify resolutions often fail to uphold their principles. For example, the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement set several goals for lowering carbon emissions and shifting to more sustainable practices and energy sources. To date, 190 countries have ratified it, but very few have met the thresholds indicated in the agreement. Countries like Canada continue to push back their target dates for lowering emissions, while countries like the US have completely withdrawn.
Genocide: A Taboo Term
Many countries still struggle to admit that genocides have occurred or are currently occurring. For instance, Bosnian genocide committed against Muslims during the Bosnian War between 1992 and 1995 is rarely discussed or acknowledged as an act of genocide. Most countries use euphemisms like ‘ethnic cleansing’ is efforts to avoid using the term ‘genocide’ since it implies serious humanitarian and legal allegations. It is for this reason that President Joe Biden’s recent recognition of the Armenian genocide was so monumental. For years, Presidents like Barack Obama promised to acknowledge the atrocities committed by Turks against ethnic Armenians in Turkey, but the term ‘genocide’ was never used until a number of weeks ago.
Plight of the Uyghur Muslims in China
Uyghur Muslims have suffered from discrimination and abuse for decades, but more recently, evidence has suggested that the Chinese government is deliberately exterminating this ethnic minority in ways that conform to the UN definition of genocide cited above. According to a Vice News report from 2019, Uyghurs are being tracked, kidnapped, separated from their families, and sent to alleged concentration camps located in the Chinese countryside. Suspected Uyghurs are subject to constant checks from authorities at airports and train stations and are often victims of police violence. The report by Vice News also showed evidence of Uyghur children being separated from their parents as toddlers and sent to special schools in which they are expected to be reformed to mainstream Chinese standards. These actions have not only separated families and endangered lives, but are also causing the deterioration of the Uyghur language and traditions as children are expected to behave as ‘Chinese’ citizens and not as Uyghar Muslims/ethnic nations.
The Denial of the Abuses Committed against Uyghurs as ‘Genocidal’
Part of Chinese propaganda and victim-blaming is the government’s accusations that Uyghurs are terrorists. While acts of terrorism have been committed by some Ughyurs in the past, this claim is wholly unjustified and incongruent with evidence showing that Uyghurs are overwhelmingly victims of abuses by the state against them, meant to deliberately target and eradicate them.
Cultural Significance in Anthropology
The main message is that all forms of ‘ethnic cleansing’ are unacceptable. If countries continue to downplay acts of exclusion, they not only subvert the very purpose of the UN and it convention on genocide, but also the efforts we have made since WWII to promote peace, diversity, and social welfare, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexual orientation.
