About this Event
The Coalition for Genocide Response, René Cassin, World Uyghur Congress, Stop Uyghur Genocide and Yet Again invite you to the webinar marking the International Women’s Day 2021.
In January 2021, the Chinese Embassy in the US tweeted that: 'Study shows that in the process of eradicating extremism, the minds of Uyghur women in Xinjiang were emancipated and gender equality and reproductive health were promoted, making them no longer baby-making machines. They were more confident and independent.'
The tweet met with significant criticism and was ultimately removed by Twitter for violating Twitter’s rules. Only a few weeks later, a BBC documentary shed light on what this ‘emancipation’ really meant; Forced sterilisations, forced abortion, rape (including gang rape), sexual violence and torture. The evidence suggest that Uyghur women’s bodies were turned into a weapon of persecution.
The panellists will discuss the issue of rape and sexual violence as a weapon against the Uyghur women and how does it translate into international crimes requiring urgent response.
Speakers include:
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC , Director of the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute
Lord Alton of Liverpool, Cross-bench Peer, Patron of the Coalition for Genocide Response
Rahima Mahmut, Director of the World Uyghur Congress (UK)
Abid Shamdeen, Executive Director of Nadia's Initiative
Laura Marks OBE, Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust