The resolution was unanimously approved after a discussion on United Nations rules and other instruments of international law for the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide.
The text approved by the delegates will not bind the British government, but it will increase pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to tighten his position on China.
In January, the US government under former President Donald Trump had already described Beijing’s repression of Uyghur minorities as genocide, although so far Johnson has not been willing to leave the issue in his hands without following in his footsteps. Of the courts.
The Conservative MP, one of the five British lawmakers recently approved by China for criticizing the treatment of Uyghurs. Nuss Ghani proposed the motion.
Outside Westminster Palace, the site of parliament, about 50 people chanted slogans condemning the Beijing government’s move and supporting the resolution passed today.
“We urge each and every Uyghur to vote in favor of the British government because we urgently need to get our family members back home. This genocide must be stopped,” said Myra Isiev, a member of the Uyghur community in the UK.
Demonstrators, mostly members of the Uyghur community, carried British, Uyghur and Tibetan flags and condemned Chinese repression of the country’s ethnic minorities.
“We have suffered from these atrocities. We have been suffering for four years. We need the government to recognize what is happening and act accordingly,” said Rahima Mahmoud, director of the Uyghur activist group.
In recent months, British MPs have repeatedly sought to pass a bill aimed at giving the Supreme Court the right to determine whether a country is committing genocide, which would allow it to block trade deals between the UK and China. But those plans were rejected by the government.
Johnson warned against a “Cold War mentality” strategy towards China and said it was important to develop cooperation with Beijing.
Last month, the United Kingdom, along with the European Union, Canada and the United States, imposed sanctions on a group of companies in China over the Uyghur issue, prompting Beijing to respond quickly.
British diplomat Dominic Robb said it was part of “serious diplomacy” to force action on evidence of serious human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority.
Also read: Turkey summons Chinese ambassador after tweeting about Uyghur
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