Survivors of Genocide

At 3 Generations, we continue to spread awareness about the horrors of genocide. We view it as ongoing and necessary in the face of the continued use of it as a weapon of oppression and power. At this moment in time, genocide is occurring in various places in the world. It is happening in China against the Uighurs, in Myanmar against the Rohingya, and most recently in Ethiopia against the people of Tigray.

China’s detention and persecution of the Uighurs is especially troubling. They are a major global power and a recent report from the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington DC states that the Chinese government bears responsibilty for the ongoing genocide against the Uighurs. According to the report, between 1 million and 2 million people have allegedly been detained in as many as 1,400 extrajudicial internment facilities across Xinjiang by the Chinese government since 2014, when it launched a campaign ostensibly targeting Islamic extremism. This goes against the UN Genocide Convention which China signed with 151 other countries in 1948. Article II of the convention states “genocide is an attempt to commit acts with an intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” China has clearly violated this article but they vehemently deny this charge stating that they are fighting violent extremism and are offering the Uighurs skills to combat poverty.

It is up to other world powers to hold China responsible for their atrocities. Establishment of an International Criminal Tribunal would require the approval of the UN Security Council, of which China is a permanent member with veto power, making any hearing on the allegations of genocide in Xinjiang unlikely. There are other ways to hold them to the fire and other countries must act despite China’s global economic and political power. A good start would be for the Olympics committee to move the next winter Olympic games in 2022 from Beijing to another host country. China does not deserve to host the games and the committee should not reward them when they are actively eliminating the Uighur population from China.

For more information about genocide and any other human rights issues that we document please visit our website.