Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the US Administration in respect of whether the treatment of the Uighurs in Xinjiang, China amounts to genocide; and if he will make a statement.

The UK Government remains gravely concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang. The UK plays a leading role in holding China to account for its human rights violations in the region, working closely with international partners, including the US. We regularly discuss our concerns and related questions of policy with the US. In a call on 27 January 2021, the Foreign Secretary and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed cooperation to hold China to its international commitments. It is the long-standing policy of the British Government that any judgment as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent court.