World Uyghur Congress intensifies advocacy on rights violations in China

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) intensified advocacy in September, addressing the UN and EU Parliament on rights violations against Uyghurs. They raised concerns over transnational repression, children's rights, and called for international action.

World Uyghur Congress representatives present a report on the Uyghur genocide to a European Parliament representative. (Photo: X/@UyghurCongress)

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) intensified its international advocacy efforts in September, raising concerns over alleged human rights violations against Uyghurs in China, transnational repression and the rights of Uyghur children, according to its September 2026 newsletter.

Engagements with UN and European Parliament

According to the newsletter, Vice President Zumretay Arkin addressed the 63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on September 9, urging member states to take concrete action following the UN human rights office’s 2022 assessment of the situation in Xinjiang, referred to as East Turkistan by Uyghur groups.

The newsletter said WUC and UZDM representatives also held advocacy meetings at the European Parliament in Strasbourg in mid-September. Discussions focused on China’s newly enacted Ethnic Unity and Progress Law, individual Uyghur cases and allegations of an ongoing Uyghur genocide. Representatives also presented a report marking ten years since the beginning of the mass internment campaign.

Focused Advocacy Efforts

International Women's Conference

According to the WUC newsletter, the organisation’s Women’s Committee held its second International Women’s Meeting in Istanbul on September 12 and 13, bringing together more than 50 women, activists and young participants from the diaspora. The discussions addressed the preservation of Uyghur language and identity, women’s participation, mental health, security and challenges faced by Uyghurs living in exile.

Letter to Chinese Leadership

The WUC further reported that it joined 28 human rights organisations in an open letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of his planned visit to Washington, calling for the release of prisoners of conscience and an end to transnational repression.

Focus on Children's Rights and Refugees

At the end of September, WUC and UZDM representatives participated in the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva and raised concerns about Uyghur refugees and international accountability.

On September 30, they also participated in a pre-sessional working group of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child ahead of China’s upcoming review. The WUC newsletter said the representatives highlighted concerns over family separation, state-run boarding schools, discrimination and the cultural, religious and educational rights of Uyghur children.

Wider Concerns and Calls to Action

Separately, the newsletter highlighted a press conference organised by the Japan Uyghur Association in Tokyo on August 31. It presented the testimony of a Uyghur man who was allegedly sent to work at a factory thousands of kilometres from home through China’s labour transfer programme before being sold to an international fraud ring.

The WUC newsletter also drew attention to reports concerning AI-assisted surveillance targeting Uyghur advocacy groups, restrictions on freedom of movement and a global call by more than 130 UN human rights experts to combat transnational repression. The organisation urged supporters to engage with its advocacy initiatives, contribute to legal proceedings concerning Uyghurs in Argentina and help raise awareness of Uyghur rights. (ANI)

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