Lithuania lawmakers call for UN probe into China treatment of Uyghurs News
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Lithuania lawmakers call for UN probe into China treatment of Uyghurs

The Lithuanian Parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution strongly condemning human rights violations and crimes against humanity committed by China against the Uyghur minority.

The resolution was adopted on account of arbitrary detention, torture, and ill-treatment of Uyghur Muslims held in internment camps in China. The Parliament, with due consideration to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, has voted to declare that acts of China amount to genocide against the Uyghur minority. In addition to Lithuania, governments of countries such as Canada, the UK and the Netherlands have previously passed resolutions stating that acts of China amount to genocide against the Uyghur minority so as to put pressure on international organizations such as the UN to take action.

In light of the human rights violations, crimes against humanity, and the act of genocide, the resolution calls on the UN to launch an investigation into the acts of China against Uyghur Muslims. The Lithuanian Parliament has also called for a review by the European Commission into the European Parliament’s cooperation with China.

The resolution also highlights human rights violations committed by China on other accounts such as harvesting organs, restriction on freedom of expression, and political rights under the national security law; the parliament called for China to put a stop to such grave violations of human rights and asked it to allow access to independent human rights experts to Tibetan areas as well as to restart dialogue with Dalai Lama.