Washington

Fifty United Nations member states issued a joint statement condemning the Chinese government's oppression of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan.

This joint statement is by the largest group of states publicly condemning China's ongoing atrocities against Uyghurs.

The statement was presented to UN Member states by Canada at a meeting of the UN General Assembly's Third Committee focusing on human rights.

It called on the Chinese government to implement the recommendations of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) 's report on East Turkistan.

"This includes taking prompt steps to release all individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in Xinjiang, and to urgently clarify the fate and whereabouts of missing family members and facilitate safe contact and reunion," the statement read.

Meanwhile, the Uyghurs praised UN's joint statement on East Turkistan and urged for international action to end genocide, as the US and the Parliaments of over a dozen European countries have already determined China's ongoing atrocities in East Turkistan as genocide.

"We thank Canada and all the 50 countries who signed onto this joint statement condemning China's ongoing genocide against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan," said Prime Minister Salih Hudayar of the East Turkistan Government in Exile.

As usual, China used Cuba to put forward a counter-statement. Sixty-six countries aligned with China, including many Muslim-majority countries, signed onto the Chinese counter statement.

On October 12, 1949, the People's Liberation Army under the People's Republic of China launched a military invasion of East Turkistan.

Several months later, the Chinese Communists overthrew the independent East Turkistan Republic, leading to the ongoing colonization and occupation of East Turkistan by Chinese forces.

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On July 6, 2020, the East Turkistan Government in Exile and the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement filed a legal complaint asking the International Criminal Court to investigate the ongoing genocide of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic peoples.