From 11 to 13 of June, several UNPO member communities and UNPO Secretariat attended the third International Uyghur Forum (IUF), “Ten Years Since the Camps: From Recognition to Accountability – What’s Next?”, held in Berlin, Germany.
The IUF is a global platform organised by the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and the Uyghur Center for Democracy and Human Rights (UZDM). With the first edition in Brussels in 2022 and second in Tokyo in 2023, the forum brought together parliamentarians, policymakers, legal experts, advocates and civil society actors to advance a coordinated international response to the Uyghur genocide. This year’s edition marked a decade since the beginning of the mass internment campaign in East Turkestan, in which an estimated more than one million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims have been detained in so-called “re-education camps”. This constitutes one of the most extensive systems of mass arbitrary detention documented in recent history. The forum brought together more than 200 participants from 25 countries for three days of panels, roundtables and testimonies, culminating in the adoption of the IUF Berlin Declaration.
Many representatives from across the UNPO network were present in a strong demonstration of solidarity with the Uyghur people. Alongside Uyghur participants, representatives and advocates from Tibet, Mongolia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, communities also affected by the repressive policies of the People’s Republic of China, contributed to the discussions, alongside representatives from the District of Columbia and other communities.
Over the course of the three-day forum, participants addressed a wide range of issues, including the limitations of existing international mechanisms in responding to state-led repression, shared experiences of transnational repression and diaspora activism, systematic restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, and the implications of China’s new Ethnic Unity Law. Discussions also examined the emotional and psychological impact of human rights advocacy, as well as the lasting effects of repression and collective trauma on affected communities.
UNPO Secretary-General Mercè Monje Cano participated in the forum and was invited to speak on the panel “The Courthouse and the Geopolitical Ceiling – Why Law Isn’t Enough”, which examined the political limits that often prevent international law from delivering accountability, even when evidence of serious human rights violations exists.
Drawing on UNPO’s work with unrepresented communities, she reflected on the structural limitations of the international system and the challenges faced by communities seeking justice when states themselves are responsible for serious human rights violations.
The Secretary-General argued that obstacles to accountability are not simply failures of implementation but are rooted in the structure of the international system itself. International institutions, being built around sovereignty, often grant states significant influence over accountability processes, even when they are accused of serious human rights violations.
She stressed that recognising these structural limitations is essential to developing more effective pathways to justice and accountability
The Secretary-General also facilitated a roundtable titled “Contemporary Uyghur Identity, Culture and Historical Memory”, a parallel session bringing together leading scholars in Uyghur history, Turkology, and cultural studies. The roundtable explored how Uyghur identity is shaped, preserved, and reimagined across generations in the face of ongoing repression, examining the role of language, literature, religion, oral traditions, and collective memory in sustaining cultural continuity both within East Turkistan and across the global diaspora.
