International 

response: 
Documented evidence of large-scale human rights abuses in China’s northwestern Xinjiang
region has painted a clear picture that Beijing is perpetrating mass atrocities against Uyghurs
and other Turkic Muslim ethnic groups. But even in the face of transparent evidence, the
strategies the international community and the United States typically deploy to prevent
atrocities have failed to stop the problem.  
Now you will be wondering who are turkic (tuh-khuk) muslims. There are
about 12 million Uighurs (wee-guhz), mostly Muslim, living in north-
western China in the region of Xinjiang (shin-jang), officially known as the
Xinjiang Uyghur (oy-guh) Autonomous Region (XUAR). The Uighurs speak
their own language, similar to Turkish, and see themselves as culturally and
ethnically close to Central Asian nations.
Here i will be discussing response of different international communities over this issue.
 UN response: 
First of all let’s see how United nations has responsed to this issue.
In October 2019, nearly two dozen countries confronted China at the United Nations, voicing
outrage over its persecution of Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang and demanding the government
comply with international obligations on the freedom of religion. 
British UN Ambassador Karen Pierce delivered the joint statement on Xinjiang at the General
Assembly’s Third Committee on Tuesday on behalf of 23 countries. 
The countries said they shared concerns raised by the UN Committee on the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination regarding 
In June2020, 50 UN experts called for an independent investigation into China’s abuses,
including in Xinjiang. The public UN event is aimed at highlighting abuses in Xinjiang and the
need for greater UN attention to the plight of China’s Turkic Muslims. 
 
U.S., UK, Germany clash with China at U.N. over Xinjiang: 
The United States, Germany and Britain clashed with China at the United Nations in May 2021, 
over the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, angering Beijing by hosting a virtual event
that China had lobbied U.N. member states to stay away from. 
"We will keep standing up and speaking out until China's government stops its crimes against
humanity and the genocide of Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang," U.S. Ambassador to
the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the event. 
Thomas-Greenfield said. 
 "In Xinjiang, people are being tortured. Women are being forcibly sterilized," 
 
While China urged countries "NOT to participate in this anti-China event," a Chinese diplomat
addressed the event. 
On May 6 2021, the Chinese mission to the UN sent a letter to other delegations in New York
City, saying:  
“We request your mission NOT to participate in this anti-China event.” 
The event was organized by Germany, the United States and Britain and co-sponsored by
Canada, Australia, New Zealand and several other European nations.
 
Pakistan's response: 
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been vocal about the mistreatment of Muslims around
the world, so his silence on the Chinese persecution of millions of Uighurs has been particularly
noticeable.  At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Imran Khan
was asked about this apparent lack of criticism and at first replied that he didn't "know much
about" the scale of Uighur mistreatment. 
But after being pushed on the issue by a reporter, Khan acknowledged that Pakistan's special
relationship with China played a part in his response to the Uighur crisis. 
Khan said, 
 "China has helped us. They came to help us when we were at rock bottom, and so we are
really grateful to the Chinese government." 
Instead of going public with any concerns, Khan said his government has decided to deal
privately with issues that may arise with Chinese leaders. 
Role of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC): 
Here I will also discuss role of OIC. The 57-country Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in
December mentioned "disturbing reports" of China's Muslim crackdown in a series of tweets. It
then backpedaled by releasing a report saying that it "commends the efforts of the People's
Republic of China in providing care to its Muslim citizens and looks forward to further
cooperation between the OIC and the People's Republic of China." 
United States’ response: 
The State Department declared on Tuesday that the Chinese government is committing
genocide and crimes against humanity through its wide-scale repression of Uighurs and other
predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in its northwestern region of Xinjiang, including in its
use of internment camps and forced sterilization. 
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement, 
“I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to
destroy Uighurs by the Chinese party-state, engaged in the forced assimilation and eventual
erasure of a vulnerable ethnic and religious minority group.” 
The determination of atrocities is a rare action on the part of the State Department and could
lead the United States to impose more sanctions against China under the new Biden
administration. President-elect Joseph R. Biden said last year through a spokesman that the
policies by Beijing amounted to “genocide.” 
Sanctions Against China: 
The EU imposed travel and economic sanctions on four of China's officials in response to the
imprisonment of hundreds of Uyghurs Muslims. The sanctions are the first the EU has imposed
since 1989.
The U.S. joined the EU in sanction against China. The EU and U.S., along with Australia, New
Zealand, and Canada released a joint statement saying, 
 "We will continue to stand together to shine a spotlight on China's human rights violations.
We stand united and call for justice for those suffering in Xinjiang." 
 
Turkey’ response: 
About 1,000 protesters gather in Istanbul to denounce China’s treatment of Uighurs during
Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit. Some waved blue-and-white flags of the independence
movement of East Turkestan, the name by which the movement refers to Xinjiang. Imam Hasan
Ozturk, a Uighur protester, said,  
“We are here to ask about our families. Why can’t we get in touch with our families? Are they
dead or alive? Where are they? Are they at camps or outside?”  
Turkey has raised the issue of Uighur Muslims during talks with China’s foreign minister in
Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, as hundreds of Uighurs protested
against the treatment of their ethnic kin in China. 
Beijing approved an extradition treaty between the two nations in December and with the deal
awaiting ratification by the Turkish parliament, activists among some 40,000 Uighurs living in
Turkey have stepped up efforts to highlight their plight, holding regular protests in the capital
Ankara and the largest city Istanbul. 
Uighurs’ worries have been fueled by Ankara’s dependence on China for COVID-19 vaccines.