Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to verify reports that Uighur camp detainees in China have been systematically raped, sexually abused and tortured; and if he will make a statement.

As I said in the House of Commons on 4 February, the BBC report of 3 February includes deeply distressing testimony of the rape, torture and dehumanisation of Uyghur women in Xinjiang detention centres. The testimonies in the report offer a further, compelling addition to the growing body of evidence of the gross human rights violations being perpetrated against Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang. The government is committed to continuing to work with our international partners, including with the new US Administration, and through our G7 Presidency, to hold China to account for its actions in Xinjiang.