The Chinese government’s campaign against the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang is a wide-ranging and systematic effort that includes identity-based persecution, mass detention, surveillance, forced labor, and assimilation.
Identity-Based Persecution: Uyghurs face severe restrictions on practicing their religion, speaking their language, and expressing cultural identity. Everyday aspects of life—such as wearing traditional clothing, praying, or attending mosque—can lead to arrest. Religious institutions are tightly monitored, and many Islamic practices are criminalized or heavily policed.
Mass Detention: An estimated one million Uyghurs have been arbitrarily detained in a vast network of camps. People are often imprisoned for actions as minor as having international contacts or studying abroad. Although China labels these as “vocational training centers,” leaked documents show they target individuals for religious behaviors or family ties. Many detainees are held without formal charges, and families—especially those abroad—are left without information, intensifying fear and trauma.
Inside the camps, former detainees describe harsh conditions, including indoctrination, forced renunciation of religion, torture, and sexual violence. Uyghurs are required to sing pro-government songs and swear loyalty to the Communist Party. Communication with the outside world is severely restricted. Children of detainees are often separated from their families and placed in state-run facilities, sometimes in distant locations.
The majority of detentions bypass the formal legal system, further undermining due process and transparency. The campaign has devastated Uyghur families and communities, many of whom live in constant anxiety over the fate of missing loved ones.
Human rights organizations and international bodies have condemned these abuses, calling them possible crimes against humanity. Yet, meaningful accountability remains elusive, and the repression in Xinjiang continues with little sign of abating.