The Winter Olympics 2022 in Beijing began last week on February 4th. The Chinese capital welcomed athletes and officials from all across the globe for the Games. However, while the event is currently taking place, there are countless ongoing human rights violations in the country behind the curtains.
“The Beijing Olympic Games promise to be a memorable sporting spectacle, but the watching world cannot willfully ignore what is happening elsewhere in China: the lawyers and activists imprisoned for their peaceful work; the sexual assault survivors punished for speaking up; the thousands estimated to be executed each year; the Muslim ethnic groups such as Uyghurs facing systematic mass internment, torture and persecution.” Alkan Akad, Amnesty International’s China Researcher.
MASS IMPRISONING IN XINJIANG
Amnesty International published the report entitled ‘Like We Were Enemies in a War’: China’s Mass Internment, Torture, and Persecution of Muslims in Xinjiang in June of 2021 documenting how Muslim ethnic minorities such as Uyghurs and Kazakhs face systematic state-organized mass imprisonment, torture, sexual abuse as well as persecution. These are considered crimes against humanity. The report also includes distressing testimonies given by the dozens of former camp detainees who provide us with an inside look at the extreme conditions since 2017 to root out the cultural and religious traditions, practices and languages. Millions of Muslims are subjected to systematized mass surveillance This is done under the guise of fighting “terrorism”.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government has shown a total unwillingness to recognize the reality of the situation in the internment camps in Xianjing by calling them “transformation through education” centres.
“The Chinese authorities have created a dystopian hellscape on a staggering scale in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.” Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary-General.
Meantime, UN member states have been slow to react and respond to these violations. One more UN Human Rights Council session has ended in October 2021 without any resolutions addressing violations in Xinjiang. UN member states should work together to strongly condemn the human rights violations in China and to ensure accountability.
“Despite mounting evidence of serious human rights violations and crimes under international law over the past four years, the United Nations and its member states have failed to live up to their responsibility to hold China to account for its actions.” Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary-General
SPORT WASHING
The Chinese government intends to show how China has grown since the country hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics by hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics. The government wants to highlight China’s superpower status while diverting attention from the ongoing human rights situation in the country. By organizing such a prestigious sports event, the country is polishing their image, capitalizing on the glamour, prestige and public interest of the sport and hiding that there is a lot wrong going on in terms of human rights. The country has spent $3.9bn for the event. This amounts to sports washing. It should also be noted that the country is implementing an immense system of massive censorship and crushing control over what people can say and see.
Instead, this event should be an opportunity to press China to address the human rights violations in the country. We should take this opportunity to remind China that respect for human rights is a fundamental condition for China to become a responsible global power. Using Olympics to hide human rights violations must be prevented.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
During these Winter Olympics, we invite you all to stand up to start taking action for five people imprisoned for solely exercising their human right to freedom of expression.
Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan,
Uyghur academic Ilham Tohti,
Human rights defender Li Qiaochu,
Human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng,
Tibetan monk Rinchen Tsultrim.
Their immediate release is vital as a first public step up the ladder for the Chinese government to make a commitment to provide better protection of human rights of everyone in the country, in line with international human rights standards and the Olympic Charter.
OUR CALL
Amnesty calls on the Chinese government, other governments, the International Olympic Committee and the National Olympic Committees to fulfill their human rights obligations and responsibilities. CHINA, RELEASE ZHANG, ILHAM, LI, GAO AND RINCHEN! Click the link below to sign the petition to release Zhang, Ilham, Li, Gao, Rinchen Tsultrim and many others who are jailed solely for speaking their minds.
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