Xinjiang: Uyghurs Debate
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Chi Onwurah
Main Page: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)Department Debates - View all Chi Onwurah's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Xinjiang: Uyghurs
Chi Onwurah Excerpts(4 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
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Nigel Adams
I know that this is very important to my hon. Friend’s constituents in Keighley, and he is right to raise that. We are absolutely committed to promoting human rights in Xinjiang. As I have mentioned on several occasions, our continued multilateral and bilateral activity with China demonstrates that. At the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, we raised our concerns about systematic violations of human rights and the reports of forced labour during our item 4 statement. When the Foreign Secretary met his counterpart, Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi, on 9 March, he raised our concerns about the human rights situation.
Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)
The Uyghurs are singled out because they are Muslim, so their treatment reflects global Islamophobia as well as Chinese racism. The terrible persecution they suffer is often facilitated by technology, with local companies developing facial recognition and other surveillance technologies that they will then try to sell to us. The Minister talks vaguely about encouraging due diligence, but what will he do to enforce the elimination of human rights abuses from the technology supply chain?
Nigel Adams
The hon. Lady speaks with great knowledge of the sector. She must be aware that we have made it absolutely clear to any British firm wishing to do business in that particular region that they must they apply due diligence—it is essential that they do so. We will continue to press UK firms in that regard, because it is the right thing to do.