63 IPAC parliamentarians representing 14 countries have written to the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) urging her to accept a complaint alleging genocide against Uyghurs by China.
The complaint, brought by Rodney Dixon QC, provides detailed and extensive evidence that the Chinese government may be committing crimes amounting to genocide and other crimes against humanity against the Uyghur and other Turkic peoples. Suspected abuses include the mass incarceration of millions of Uyghurs, widespread forced labour and the forced sterilisation of ethnic minority women.
The People’s Republic of China is not a signatory to the ICC and so cases brought against the Chinese government are rare. The parliamentarians point to an ICC ruling that crimes commenced on the territory of an ICC state party fall within the jurisdiction of the Court. This precedent was established in a case regarding crimes against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar in 2019. The letter refers to the mass detention and deportation of Uyghurs from Tajikistan and Cambodia, both signatories to the ICC, into China.
An excerpt from the letter reads:
“The ICC has a unique ability to adjudicate on alleged genocide and crimes against humanity internationally. We call on the ICC to play its part in ensuring that the perpetrators of the most egregious human rights abuses are held accountable and prevented from acting with impunity.”
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, IPAC co-chair and Director of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, commented:
“Mounting evidence points to the most horrific abuses against Uyghurs and other minorities in the Xinjiang region. The International Criminal Court must fully examine the allegations brought before it and if warranted make every effort to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.”
Rodney Dixon QC commented:
“The support for our complaint shown by the IPAC Parliamentarians is very significant. The prosecutor should feel encouraged that so many parliamentarians from other ICC member states believe that she should open an investigation into officials of the Chinese Government for the atrocities being committed against the Uyghur and other Turkic people. For too long, nothing of substance has been done to bring justice to those who are suffering on a daily basis at the hands of the Chinese Government. This is a breakthrough and momentous opportunity which we urge the ICC Prosecutor to pursue without delay. This chance should not be squandered.”
Full text of the letter:
Dear Ms Fatou Bensouda,
We, members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, are writing to express our support for the Complaint brought before the International Criminal Court by Rodney Dixon QC alleging widespread and systematic crimes against the Uyghur people. The Complaint was submitted to your office in an Article 15 Communication dated July 6th 2020.
The Complaint provides compelling evidence that the Chinese government may be committing crimes amounting to Genocide and other Crimes against Humanity against the Uyghur and other Turkic minority peoples. Suspected abuses include the detention of millions of people in internment camps, the forced mass sterilization of Uyghur women and numerous repressive measures against Uyghur culture and religion.
Though the People’s Republic of China is not a Member State of the ICC, the Complaint alleges crimes against Uyghurs from Member States of the ICC, including the mass detention and deportation of Uyghurs from Tajikistan and Cambodia into China. We urge you to uphold the decision that crimes commenced on the territory of an ICC State Party come within the jurisdiction of the Court, as decided by the Court in relation to the Bangladesh/Myanmar (Rohingya) case in November 2019.
As Parliamentarians of ICC Member States, we ask that you urgently use your full powers under the Rome statute to launch an investigation gathering all relevant evidence to determine whether there can be prosecutions of Chinese officials for these alleged crimes.
The ICC has a unique ability to adjudicate on alleged genocide and crimes against humanity internationally. We call on the ICC to play its part in ensuring that the perpetrators of the most egregious human rights abuses are held accountable and prevented from acting with impunity.
We look forward to your response.
Signatories:
Andrew Hastie MP (Australia)
Sen. Kimberley Kitching (Australia)
Sen. Alex Antic (Australia)
Sen. Eric Abetz (Australia)
Kevin Andrews MP (Australia)
George Christensen MP (Australia)
Rep. Samuel Cogolati (Belgium)
Hon. Irwin Cotler (Canada)
James Bezan MP (Canada)
Sen. Pierre J. Dalphond (Canada)
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Canada)
Garnett Genuis MP (Canada)
Sen. Leo Housakos (Canada)
Sen. Marilou McPhedran (Canada)
David Sweet MP (Canada)
Sen. Thanh Hai Ngo (Canada)
Pavel Fischer MP (Czechia)
Jan Lipavsky MP (Czechia)
Katarina Ammitzbøll MP (Denmark)
Uffe Elbæk MP (Denmark)
Senator Olivier Cadic (France)
Senator André Gattolin
Frédérique Dumas MP (France)
Margarete Bause MdB (Germany)
Gyde Jensen MdB (Germany)
Matteo Luigi Bianchi MP (Italy)
Enrico Borghi MP (Italy)
Sen. Valeria Fedeli (Italy)
Roberto Giachetti MP (Italy)
Sen. Lucio Malan (Italy)
Sen. Roberto Rampi (Italy)
Andrea Delmastro delle Vedove MP (Italy)
Mantas Adomėnas MP (Lithuania)
Martijn van Helvert MP (Netherlands)
Henk Krol MP (Netherlands)
Louisa Wall MP (New Zealand)
Elisabet Lann (Sweden)
Fredrik Malm MP (Sweden)
Tina Acketoft MP (Sweden)
Lorentz Tovatt MP (Sweden)
Hampus Hagman MP (Sweden)
David Josefsson MP (Sweden)
Maria Nilsson MP (Sweden)
Niels Paarup-Petersen MP (Sweden)
Joar Forssell MP (Sweden)
Fabian Molina MP (Switzerland)
Nicolas Walder MP (Switzerland)
Lord David Alton (United Kingdom)
Steve Baker MP (United Kingdom)
Baroness Natalie Bennett (United Kingdom)
Chris Bryant MP (United Kingdom)
Alistair Carmichael MP (United Kingdom)
Rosie Cooper MP (United Kingdom)
Geraint Davies MP (United Kingdom)
Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP (United Kingdom)
Nusrat Ghani MP (United Kingdom)
Baroness Helena Kennedy (United Kingdom)
Imran Ahmad Khan MP (United Kingdom)
Tim Loughton MP (United Kingdom)
Siobhain McDonagh MP (United Kingdom)
Anthony Mangnall MP (United Kingdom)
Baroness Catherine Meyer (United Kingdom)
Layla Moran MP (United Kingdom)
Andrew Selous MP (United Kingdom)
Alyn Smith MP (United Kingdom)
Stephen Timms MP (United Kingdom)
