US condemns China’s ‘genocide’ against Xinjiang minorities

United Nations, May 12 (EFE).- The United States on Wednesday said it would work with its allies to pressure China into ending the “genocide” against the Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in the country’s eastern Xinjiang province.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, made the remarks at a Washington event joined by representatives of the United Kingdom, Germany and a number of human rights groups.

“Today, we have heard – and will continue to hear – how the rights of Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang are being abused and violated to the extreme,” she said.

“We will keep standing up and speaking out until China’s government stops its crimes against humanity and the genocide of Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang.”

She added: “And we will keep working in concert with our allies and our partners until China’s government respects the universal human rights of all its people.”

Joe Biden’s administration in March accused China of genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uighurs and other mainly-Muslim ethnic groups Xinjiang, something Bejing denies.

He was following a tough line set by his predecessor Donald Trump.

Thomas-Greenfield added Wednesday: “In Xinjiang, people are being tortured. Women are being forcibly sterilized.

“There are incredible reports, and credible reports, that many Uighur people and other ethnic and religious minorities – who only wish to practice basic freedoms of religion, belief, expression, and movement – are being forced to work until they drop, manufacturing clothes and goods at the behest of the state.”

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, which have repeatedly accused China of committing abuses against the Uighurs, are due to take part in the event.