The world cannot afford to look away from Xinjiang

The author contends that Western governments have historically been complicit in human rights abuses by ignoring or supporting repressive regimes for national interest. This is exemplified by the situation in Xinjiang, where Uighurs face mass detention, forced labour, and cultural repression. The text calls for the EU and UK to move beyond rhetoric and implement targeted sanctions, boycotts, and UN-led actions to combat forced labour and genocide.

• The Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region is characterized by total surveillance and mass detention, with at least one million people held in re-education camps since a significant expansion began in 2017. Detainees are subjected to forced labour for commercial companies, including Western brands, and face systematic repression of language and culture, alongside reports of forced abortions and sterilisation.
• Western countries have historically failed to uphold the universality of human rights by supporting repressive regimes for political and economic expediency. In the case of Xinjiang, early repression was actively encouraged by Western nations under the guise of the "War on Terror," falsely equating the Uighur threat to Al-Qaeda or Isis.
• The author proposes several strategies for credible international action against human rights abuses, including the use of Magnitsky-style sanctions to restrict the travel and finances of perpetrators, supporting UN-led actions against forced labour in global supply chains, and implementing boycotts or ending arms sales to abusive regimes like Saudi Arabia.
• The document asserts that the EU, specifically Germany and France, should lead a new approach to foreign affairs that prioritizes human rights over narrow economic interests, potentially through cooperation with the UK.

APA

Bennett, N. (2020). The world cannot afford to look away from Xinjiang. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-world-cannot-afford-to-look-away-from-xinjiang/

Chicago

Bennett, Natalie. The world cannot afford to look away from Xinjiang. Green European Journal, 2020. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-world-cannot-afford-to-look-away-from-xinjiang/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Bennett |first1=Natalie |title=The world cannot afford to look away from Xinjiang |publisher=Green European Journal |date=17 December 2020 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-world-cannot-afford-to-look-away-from-xinjiang/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{bennett2020world, author = {Bennett, Natalie}, title = {{The world cannot afford to look away from Xinjiang}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-world-cannot-afford-to-look-away-from-xinjiang/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }