Intervention in the plenary debate on the situation of Uighurs in China (“China Cables”)
Madam President, we can call them whatever we want. We can even call them re-education camps, as they do in Beijing. But it is indeed a concentration camp where one Uighur person in nine lives today, one million people altogether.
We must be outraged by this, but it will not be enough. It is also our duty to remind the Chinese leaders that there is no real power without responsibility. This world needs China because, without it, there is no hope of curbing the anarchy on the international scene, nor of returning to negotiated compromises without which there can be no stability. Humanity would need to be able to count on you, you who are leading China. But if you fail to respect human rights, you will not have internal peace and therefore cannot contribute to international stability.
So listen to us, be as wise as your millenary existence allows you to be and demands of you; close these camps, let your people breathe and free Ilham Tohti.
