By Jerome A. Cohen
It is obvious that crimes against humanity and other international human rights violations have been taking place in Xinjiang. There is ample evidence from many sources, not the least of which are the Muslim people themselves. I do not think that commentators should allow the debate over whether the correct term is “genocide” to absolve the PRC from its evident abominations.
Yet, we should not allow this agreement to obscure the importance of the Genocide Convention. It should not take training in international law to make it clear to those who read the Convention that this treaty is not by any means limited in its scope to killing. If it were, there would have been no need to go beyond “killing” in section (a) to add sections (b) through (e), covering other types of harm, in the definitional provision. The PRC has been engaged in a comprehensive, multifaceted, whole of government and society campaign to eliminate the distinguishing characteristics of the Uyghur and Kazakh peoples. This grotesque and probably futile effort to convert them into Han people deserves to be condemned as the kind of “destruction” of a people that those who drafted and ratified the Convention had in mind.
Regarding what actions countries can take, I support unilateral and multilateral denunciations in every possible forum, including diplomatic, economic, scientific, educational, cultural and sports activities, and reluctance to give favorable responses to whatever the PRC wants from other countries. E.g., it is still not too late for the EU to drag its feet on or not ratify the recent trade agreement. In protest, the US and other liberal democracies should not send participants to the 2022 Winter Olympics.
How to manage such strong protests and still make progress on urgent issues of interest to both sides, such as climate and public health, will be the challenge confronting liberal democracies. Balance is easier said than done. Yet we have to try what I have mentioned previously – The Four Cs: Cooperation, Competition, Criticism and Containment.