According to the House, the punitive measures are necessary because, despite international insistence, there is no end to human rights violations. The Uyghurs are massively detained and forced into forced labor. According to the motion, only an independent investigation could stop the sanctions. Beijing has always refused to do that.
Last week, the Australian think tank Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) reported that 380 internment camps have been built in Xinjiang in the past three years. It would concern both re-education camps and heavily guarded prisons. At least one million Uyghurs (a Muslim minority) are said to be in camps.
Don’t look away anymore
“We can no longer look away”, said Sjoerd Sjoerdsma of D66. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he shared the great concerns of the House. According to him, the cabinet is emphatically committed to improving human rights. But Rutte did not want to support the motion because he wants to wait for the EU law that makes it possible to tackle human rights violators.
The chance that the EU Member States will agree on sanctions against China is not considered great. The 27 countries must unanimously agree to punitive measures.
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