Three years after a UN report found China’s abuses against the Uyghurs may amount to crimes against humanity, Amnesty warns there is still no accountability and families of Uyghur detainees remain in anguish.
Amnesty International has warned that, three years after a landmark United Nations report concluded that China’s abuses in East Turkistan (Xinjiang) may amount to crimes against humanity, Beijing has yet to face accountability. The organization criticized both China’s continued repression and the international community’s failure to act.
On 31 August 2022, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published its assessment, finding that serious human rights violations against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the region “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.” Amnesty’s own 2021 report had reached similar conclusions.
However, Amnesty says China has ignored the UN’s recommendations, continuing to enforce repressive policies, silence victims’ families, and separate communities.
“Three years after the UN report concluded that China was responsible for grave human rights violations in East Turkistan, it is shameful that the international community has failed to act,” said Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s China Director. “Lives have been ruined, families separated and communities dismantled by the Chinese authorities’ continuing cruelty.”
Testimonies collected by Amnesty from January to August 2025 highlight ongoing abuses. Patime, who lost a relative in detention while another remains imprisoned, said global attention has faded since the UN report and that “every day without action means more families are torn apart.” Mamatjan Juma, whose brother Ahmetjan is in prison, described the pain of “living with a wound that never heals,” as his family has endured years without news. Nefise Oğuz, whose uncle Alim remains behind bars, called for “real, concrete action from the international community, not just words.”
Medine Nazimi, whose sister Mevlüde remains in detention, expressed frustration at the lack of progress over the past three years: “The international community – including governments, civil society and ordinary citizens – must stop treating China’s crimes as just an internal issue. What is happening to Uyghurs is not a domestic matter, it is a human rights crisis and a crime against humanity. Our goal is for those suffering in China’s internment camps and prisons – those being tortured and deprived of freedom – to see the light of day and reunite with their families.”
Amnesty called on UN member states to condemn China’s violations, push for the release of detainees, and establish an independent international investigative mechanism to ensure accountability. The organization also demanded reparations for victims and measures to prevent further abuses.
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