World Uyghur Congress urges German President Steinmeier to raise Uyghur rights with Xi during China visit: close camps, free arbitrarily detained Uyghurs, repeal Ethnic Unity Law
According to an ANI dispatch carried by Devdiscourse on October 29, 2026, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has urged German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to raise concerns over alleged human rights violations against Uyghurs during his state visit to China from October 27 to 31, including state-imposed forced labour, transnational repression and China's newly enacted Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress. The Congress said Germany's economic engagement with China should not come at the expense of Uyghur rights, and called on Steinmeier to follow up on Germany's stated concerns during his meetings with Chinese officials. [1]
Why it matters
This episode is worth recording for three reasons. First, the timing itself is the news: this is not a routine statement addressed to no one in particular, but a public appeal issued mid-visit, during an ongoing state visit, addressed to Germany's head of state and aimed directly at his talks with Xi Jinping — with a verifiable follow-up, namely whether Steinmeier raises the issues before the visit ends on October 31 and how each side responds. Second, the statement braids three threads into one argument: forced labour (supply chains and German businesses), transnational repression (the safety of Uyghur communities in Germany), and the Ethnic Unity Law, which the Congress says institutionalises forced-assimilation policies and singles out Article 63, whose extraterritorial application could give Chinese authorities a new legal pretext for transnational repression. Third, the statement's supporting chain consists of publicly checkable international documents: UN experts' January 2026 concern over practices that may amount to crimes against humanity, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk's June warning that the law could deepen restrictions on freedom of language, education, religion, culture, expression and assembly together with his call for its repeal, the European Parliament's April 30, 2026 resolution calling on China to repeal the law, and Germany's expression of concern at the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in September 2026. The conservative boundary is equally clear: characterisations such as 'genocide' in the statement are the Congress's claims, attributed throughout this record and not adopted as this site's findings; as of the dispatch, no response from Steinmeier or Beijing to the statement was reported, hence 'under ongoing verification'. [1]
Full report
According to the ANI dispatch of October 29, the Congress said the visit comes amid renewed warnings from United Nations human rights experts regarding practices that may amount to crimes against humanity: UN experts expressed concern in January 2026 over reports of state-imposed forced labour affecting Uyghurs, Tibetans and other ethnic communities in China. The statement also highlighted the alleged risks of Uyghur forced labour in global supply chains, including those linked to German businesses, and cited High Commissioner Volker Turk's June warning that the legislation could deepen restrictions on freedom of language, education, religion, culture, expression and assembly, together with his call for its repeal. [1]
The Congress singled out Article 63 of the law, which, according to the statement, provides for the application of Chinese law to individuals and organisations outside China accused of undermining ethnic unity; the Congress warned that the provision could provide Chinese authorities with an additional legal pretext for transnational repression against Uyghur communities abroad, including in Germany. The statement also cited the European Parliament's resolution of April 30, 2026, calling on the Chinese government to repeal the law, which the Congress described as further institutionalising forced-assimilation policies and undermining Uyghur identity. The Congress further noted that Germany expressed concern during the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in September 2026 that China's new Ethnic Unity Law further reinforced restrictions on cultural and religious freedoms in East Turkistan and Tibet, and called on Steinmeier to follow up on Germany's stated concerns during his meetings with Chinese officials. [1]
WUC President Turgunjan Alawdun said, according to the statement: 'The Uyghur genocide is not confined to East Turkistan. Its consequences extend beyond China's borders, from forced labour in international supply chains to the intimidation of Uyghurs living abroad.' He urged Steinmeier to raise the alleged violations directly with Xi Jinping, stressing that Germany's economic and diplomatic engagement with China should not come at the expense of Uyghur rights. The statement also referred to reports of Uyghur activists facing intimidation, surveillance and pressure on their families in East Turkistan. [1]
The statement set out six specific demands: the closure of any remaining internment camps, the release of arbitrarily detained Uyghurs, an end to state-imposed forced labour and transnational repression, the repeal of the Ethnic Unity Law, implementation of UN human rights recommendations, and unrestricted access for independent UN experts to East Turkistan, including detention facilities, to investigate ongoing human rights violations. As of the ANI dispatch, no response from Steinmeier or Beijing to the statement was reported; the state visit runs through October 31. [1]
Verification note and links to this site's records: the core facts — the existence and content of the Congress's October 29 statement, Steinmeier's October 27–31 visit, and the statement's citations of the UN experts' January concern, Turk's June warning, the European Parliament's April 30 resolution and Germany's position at the 63rd Human Rights Council session — all come from the ANI dispatch carried by Devdiscourse; characterisations such as 'genocide' are the Congress's claims, with attribution preserved throughout. The Ethnic Unity Law cited in the statement is the same law at issue in this site's October 9 record on the Flushing pro-democracy rally condemning it and its October 26 weekly-brief record, but those are separate episodes, listed alongside this record without merging cases. This record is graded 'under ongoing verification' and will follow whether Steinmeier raises the issues during the visit and any responses. [1]
Links above point to the original publishers of the cited reports or articles. Their conclusions are attributed in the text and do not imply that this site has independently verified every factual claim.