IPI and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide co-hosted an event on “The Ongoing Mass Atrocity Crimes Against the Uyghurs and How the UN Can Respond” on May 1st. The event featured a film screening of the Emmy award-winning film Reeducated, produced by the New Yorker.

This event raised awareness and galvanized discussion about the role of the United Nations to respond to and prevent mass atrocities in the Xinjiang region, nearly three years after the release of the report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) detailing violations against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities that the High Commissioner noted may constitute crimes against humanity. In August 2024 the OHCHR released an update on their work in China, sharing that they are engaging with Chinese authorities, including on Xinjiang, and noting that “many problematic laws and policies remain in place.”

The Uyghur community is a Turkic Muslim minority group of roughly 11 million people who live primarily in the province of Xinjiang in western China. The Chinese government has persecuted Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim communities on the basis of their identity for decades.

Opening Remarks:
Adam Lupel, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, International Peace Institute

Speakers:
Ben Mauk, Writer and Filmmaker of Reeducated
Rushan Abbas, Founder and Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs
Rayhan Asat, Senior Legal and Policy Advisor and China Project Lead, Atlantic Council Strategic Litigation Project
Sophie Richardson, Co-Executive Director, Chinese Human Rights Defenders

Moderator:
Naomi Kikoler, Director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum