Government pressed hard in the House of Commons about BBC report on Uighur forced labour. Tomorrow Ministers will face questions in the House of Lords.

Government pressed hard in the House of Commons about BBC report on Uighur forced labour. Tomorrow Ministers will face questions in the House of Lords.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/nz0g306v8c/china-tainted-cotton

Extracts from the House of Commons 16.12.2020

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-12-16/debates/5A8183C8-0467-4D58-8FAF-55AA109F40CD/UyghurSlaveLabourXinjiang

Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP: Conservative –

I ask my hon. Friend when he will announce that those responsible for all these evils will be sanctioned under the Magnitsky regimes. We have been going on and on about that, without answer. Will he commit to reviewing all our dependency on China and to putting that on a secure basis? May I ask what he is doing now about the penetration by those United Front entryists into the embassy and other secure institutions in the United Kingdom? Will his Department support the forthcoming genocide amendment that is now in the other place?

Lisa Nandy MP: Labour –

Yesterday, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis described the treatment of the Uyghur people as an “unfathomable mass atrocity”. He added: “Let no person say that the responsibility lies with others.”

The shocking BBC revelations must be the trigger for action, following accounts of forced sterilisations, beatings and re-education camps, which undeniably share features of genocide.

Alyn Smith MP: SNP –

The BBC has shown up the Government’s inaction in auditing UK companies’ involvement in and potential profiting from slavery, so I repeat my call for a Government audit of UK companies involved in this.

Nusrat Ghani MP: Conservative –

I encourage the Minister to reach out to the incoming Biden Administration, to learn more about the United States Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and see how we can collaborate to prevent the abuse of Uyghur men, the exploitation of Uyghur women and the destruction of the lives of Uyghur children?

Nigel Adams MP (Minister): Conservative –

We are seriously concerned about a number of gross violations of human rights that are being perpetrated against Uyghur men and women and other minorities in Xinjiang.

Watch this week’s webinar on the plight of China’s Uighurs

“The Persecution of the Uighur Muslims in China – Where to Go From Now?” Webinar organised by the All Party Group on Uighurs and the Coalition for Genocide Response. Remarks by David Alton

Historic House of Lords Vote on All-Party Amendment on Genocide Determination passes by a Majority of 126. Now Members of the Commons have the chance to say no to trade deals with States credibly accused of Genocide.

Parliament Urged To Pass An Amendment To The Trade Bill Voiding Trade Deals With States UK Courts Deem To Be Involved In Genocide

Remembering Nuremberg – 75 years ago today and why it challenges us to combat new Genocides and hatred of minorities.

Government challenged “Is it a case of business as usual?” with China – following allegations of crimes against humanity or genocide. Minister says U.K. is “actively and carefully” studying an amendment to the Trade Bill. Baroness Helena Kennedy insists that trade must not be elevated above human rights.

Uighurs And The Question of Genocide. Good Minister – Bad Answer. The UK continues to hide behind the fiction that an international judicial body is going to declare a genocide against the Uighurs. Take a leaf out of the book of the Canadian House of Commons: “We know and we must act”