Thank you for contacting me about Uyghur Muslims in China.

I share your concerns about the appalling human rights situation in Xinjiang and the Chinese Government's deepening crackdown on Uyghur Muslims, including the extra-judicial detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in ‘political re-education camps’ and reports of birth rate suppression.

The UK regularly raises human rights concerns with China, including on the treatment of religious and ethnic minorities. The Foreign Secretary has spoken with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi, on a number of occasions and urged China to uphold its international human rights obligations in Xinjiang in the face of credible evidence of egregious human rights violations against Uyghur Muslims.

The term genocide has a specific definition in international law, and it is the UK's long-standing policy that any judgment as to whether war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide have occurred is a matter for judicial decision. 

Thank you for contacting me on this important matter.