The US Holocaust Museum has said repression of Uighur Muslims in China has gotten worse [File: Lee Jin-man/The Associated Press]
A recent report by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has provided evidence that the Chinese government is repressing Uighur Muslims in the western Xinjiang region. The report expressed concerns about an ongoing genocide.
The new report sheds light on the deepening assault on Uighur women's reproductive capacity. It also details abuses including alleged forced sterilisation, sexual violence, enslavement, torture, and forcible transfer, reported Al Jazeera.
The museum's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide stated that the report expresses the Museum's "grave concern that the Chinese government may be committing genocide" against the Uighurs.
The report included witness testimonies, publicly available information from dissidents and data provided by human rights groups. The new information suggests that the Chinese government's conduct has escalated beyond a policy of forced assimilation.
The organisation's previous report reflected similar concerns. With new findings, the Museum said that there is "a reasonable basis" to believe that crimes against humanity are growing amid a campaign. The statement added that the Chinese officials are hiding the severity of their actions. The international community has condemned the "genocide" on several occasions.
Tom Bernstein, the chairman of the museum's Committee on Conscience, called on Beijing to halt the attack and allow independent international monitors to ensure that the same. He said that the Chinese government has done its best to keep this information from getting out, reported The Associated Press.
China has rejected the charges and repeated the claim that its policies are meant to "fight extremism". However, the government has denied the UN and human rights groups access to Xinjiang.