Concerns about the detention of Uyghur Muslims in China were recently raised at the international level by a Uyghur rights organisation. Dolkul Isa, President of the Uyghur Center for Democracy and Human Rights (UZDM), criticised China’s policy towards Uyghur Muslims. Isa expressed his views on the sidelines of the 63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on 26th September.
Isa said that China has not changed its policy regarding Uyghur Muslims; rather, it has altered its strategy in dealing with the community due to increasing international pressure. “There is growing international pressure from the UN report on Uyghurs, the Uyghur Tribunal verdict, and the Mozambique Parliament recognising a motion on Uyghur genocide. A lot of international media have also covered this,” he said.
— Dolkun Isa (@Dolkun_Isa) September 26, 2026
“So, China cannot continue hiding the reality. The Chinese government is now trying to hide and whitewash what I describe as the ongoing Uyghur genocide by slightly changing its tactics and strategy,” he added. Isa said that the Chinese government is organising and sponsoring what he calls “propaganda tours” for foreign journalists, diplomats and scholars to the region where the Uyghur community resides to portray a misleading image. He added that China has cut off all contact between the Uyghur community and the outside world.
Isa said that China continues to force Uyghur Muslims into detention and labour camps. “Millions of people are still suffering in concentration camps. Forced labour is still a critical issue. There are people being forced into labour both inside and outside the camps,” he said, adding that one million Uyghur children remain separated from their families.
From detention centres to prisons: Uyghur Muslims continue to face persecution by the CCP regime
A recent report by The Hill also flags similar concerns about the treatment of Uyghur Muslims by China. The report states that China closed many Uyghur detention camps between 2019 and 2020 under mounting international pressure, but it did not stop the repression.
According to the report, the Chinese government imprisoned hundreds of thousands of Uyghur Muslims, whom it was not able to send to detention centres. The report cites some data to indicate the extent and scale of the oppression of Uyghur Muslims by Chinese authorities.
It states that Chinese authorities have prosecuted over 540,000 Uyghur people in the region since 2017. Around 37% of Uyghur individuals prosecuted by the Chinese government reportedly received sentences of 10 years or more, while a large number of them continued to remain in detention.
The persecution of Uyghur Muslims by the Chinese government is a well-known fact, for which the Chinese government has received widespread criticism. In 2024, the Chinese government forcefully demolished hundreds of mosques in Xinjiang province.
However, the oppression of the Uyghur community by the Chinese authorities has continued unabated. The government conducts strict surveillance of the regions where the community resides.
