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INTRODUCTION
Located in the far northwest of China, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is a vast, sparsely populated region with vast semi-desert steppes to the north and deep desert basins surrounded by historic oasis towns to the south. About three times the size of France, the area covered by the XUAR has been renowned for centuries for the ancient Silk Road and its thriving trade and cultural channel between China and the rest of the world.
This story has made XUAR one of the most ethnically diverse regions in China. More than half of the 22 million inhabitants of the region belong to predominantly Turkic and Muslim ethnic groups, including Uighurs (about 10 million), Kazakhs (about 1.5 million) and other populations. including the languages, cultures and lifestyles of the Han who are in the majority in "inner" China.
Rich in coal, natural gas and oil and sharing borders with eight different countries, the XUAR is closely linked to many of China's economic, strategic and foreign policy goals. But decades of interethnic tensions have led to cycles of sporadic violence and severe repression. Chinese leaders now see stability in XUAR as critical to the success of the Belt and Road Initiative, a comprehensive global infrastructure development program aimed at strengthening China's ties with Central Asia.
Today, however, the world's attention has focused on the XUAR for other reasons. In recent months, disturbing reports of intrusive surveillance, arbitrary detentions, political indoctrination and forced cultural assimilation have been carried out in the region. In concluding its review of China in August 2018, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of the United Nations (Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination) expressed its concern over reports that Uighurs and other minorities with Muslim majority would be detained religious extremism. The picture of what is happening in Xinjiang is becoming clearer, but as the Chinese government has long prevented any form of religion. significant independent investigation in the region, many remain unknown. In recent months, Amnesty International has spoken with more than 100 people on four continents, who said they have lost contact with relatives and friends inside Xinjiang and fear that they will not be safe. to be detained. The secret and undocumented way of missing people makes it almost impossible to find or confirm the location of a particular person. Amnesty International has begun to collect accounts from those affected, and these reports corroborate much of the information reported by others.
At this point, our concern about recent developments in the XUAR demands that we urgently take the floor and ask the Chinese authorities to begin providing credible answers to the questions regarding the current crackdown.
Of all these questions, perhaps the most urgent is where all the family members who contacted us want an answer more than any other. In the name of the missing inside the XUAR and the people around the world who care about it, this is the question we are now asking the Chinese government in a loud and unified voice: "Where are they?
NOTE ON THE PREPARATION OF THIS BRIEFING
The investigation of sensitive human rights issues under the XUAR program has always been extremely difficult.
Diplomats and United Nations human rights experts usually have access to the region only through visits carefully managed and controlled by local authorities. Foreign journalists are regularly monitored and harassed by security agents3. Some have even been deported or denied a work visa to investigate under the XUAR4. Locals are often reluctant to share information with third parties. In such circumstances, it is extremely difficult to collect and present accurate evidence of human rights violations that may occur.
Amnesty International has closely followed reports from media organizations and other NGOs about the situation in Xinjiang. Our organization has not independently verified most of the descriptions of the detention system that have been reported so far in the context of XUAR field investigations. We initially conducted remote interviews with eight people who contacted us for help locating relatives or friends. In September 2018, we collected testimonials from more than 100 ethnic Kazakhs from Xinjiang during a four-day visit to Kazakhstan. On the basis of these interviews and reports from other people, we are sufficiently convinced of the existence of the XUAR detention system and that additional measures must be taken to investigate it.
Serikzhan Bilash and Kydyrali Orazuly, who founded the organization Atajurt (Атажұрт), participated in most of the talks with the Kazakhs. detained in "political re-education camps", under house arrest or whose passports have been confiscated by the Chinese authorities.
Unless otherwise indicated, all respondents consented to the use of their full names and the names of missing or suspected parents.
