About the Uygurs’ situation in Xinjiang: a legal point of view

Following the defeat of the United States in Afghanistan, it is appropriate for China to ensure a certain degree of stability in the region of Central Asia. China wishes to ascertain a return to political stability and the promotion of economic development in the region. This requires fighting against terrorism, separatism, and extremism.

As President Xi Jinping has stressed in several of his speeches, no civilization is superior to another. But terrorism is contrary to human civilization and human rights. China is being subject to the dangers and tensions that exist in Central Asia. The "three demons" of terrorism, separatism and religious extremism are considered to be the three greatest threats to China.

So then, how is the Chinese government's policy in Xinjiang to be judged from a legal point of view? What opinion can a European jurist like me give? Can we legally speak of “genocide” with regard to the Uygurs?

Two official documents define “genocide,” namely the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 9, 1948; and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court adopted in 1998. Article 2 of the Convention and Article 6 of the Rome Statute define the crime of genocide as follows:

Namely, “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

a) Killing members of the group;

b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcible transfer of children from the group to another group.

It is obvious that China does not intend to destroy all or part of the Uygur population. Attacks committed by the terrorists can't be tolerated. China just wants to put the Uygur people out of harm's way. This action cannot be called genocide. Every State resorts to public force to ensure social order and to protect its population against the perpetrators of criminal offences.

It should be noted that in the Muslim world, there is very little criticism of the policy conducted by the Chinese government regarding the Uygurs. There are no associated demonstrations or protests among the populations in the 57 Muslim countries of the world. This has never existed. For example, Saudi Arabia does not criticize the Chinese government.

Let us recall what the United States, which criticizes China, did after the 9/11 attacks. They invaded Afghanistan and led coalitions to invade several countries in the Middle East. They sent those they presumed to be terrorists without undergoing any form of trial to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, where they underwent various tortures.

The author is a law professor at the University of Aix-Marseille, France.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of People’s Daily Online.