United Nations

 by JulieAnn Sickell

How Detainment of Uyghur Muslims Can Lead to Violent Extremism

Source: AP Feed News (2018)

By: JulieAnn Sickell, Ahmad Mohibi

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination criticizes the Chinese government for the enduring detainment and forced ‘re-education’ of Uyghurs in the western region of Xinjiang.

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) goal of the re-education camps is to prevent extremism and provide vocational training. Detainees learn Mandarin, how to assemble electronics, and receive lessons on Chinese laws and the Constitution.

More than 10 million Uyghurs reside in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Sources estimate anywhere between tens of thousands to over one million Uyghurs are detained in re-education camps. The Chinese government has deliberately abducted and tortured Uyghurs and destroyed their mosques to the ground.

China has a long history of re-education programs. Reform through labor (laogai) and re-education through labor (laojiao) were phased out in the 2000s as President Xi Jinping found them inappropriate for a modern society. However, a new re-education emerged to convert Falun Gong supporters called transformation through education. Current re-education programs in Xinjiang resemble the transformation through education programs China has previously enacted.

Uyghurs Muslims are treated as ‘terrorists’ and the rivals of the state. Numerous Uyghurs are trapped and have been deliberately quarantined from the socio-economic opportunities as well as political representation in the government. The problem dates back to the annexation of Xinjiang in 1950 to become officially part of Communist China since this annexation Uyghurs have been subjected to various human rights violations on the basis of ethnicity.

Multiple Chinese officials view Islam as an ‘illness’ or ideology that needs to be removed in order to prevent terrorism from spreading. Outrage over the clash in Urumqi in 2009 and the Kunming attack in 2014 provides further basis for ethnic-profiling of Uyghurs by the CCP. Both events were centered on ethnic tensions between Uyghurs and Han Chinese, the majority ethnic group in China.

The evolution of these attacks from mutual violence between Han and Uyghurs to the slaughter of 29 Han Chinese by Uyghurs allows the Chinese Communist Party justification for the creation of detention camps. By letting fears of instability control their actions, the CCP falls victim to Islamophobia.

When confronted about wrongful imprisonment in Xinjiang by the United Nations and the United States, China lashed back with adamant denial and critiques. The UN released a report expressing concern over the imprisonment of Uyghurs in the name of countering terrorism. The Chinese Communist Party denied that the existence of the re-education camps and once the report was released, they critiqued the United Nations for accusing them without proper facts.

A similar confrontation occurred between the United States and China. US lawmakers called for the officials involved with the re-education camps to be sanctioned. Hua Chunying from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not outright deny the existence of the re-education camps but critiqued the United States human rights record to defend the CCP’s actions.

The United States and the United Nations must continue to pressure China to end the detainment of the Uyghur people. China will continue to deny accusations until legitimate action is taken such as the sanctions initially suggested by US lawmakers.

The best option for the United States is to continue to encourage China to use the rule of law and to respect human rights or the repression of the Uyghur people will lead to extremism, not lessen it. Decades of repression surmounting in re-education camps provides a breeding ground for extremist thought.

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 by Ali Almullaali

How the United Nations Is Empowering the Leaders of Tomorrow

The United Nations’ Friendship Ambassadors Foundation (FAF) brought together more than 1,000 students and young professionals from around the world to collaborate at the 2018 Winter Youth Assembly from February 14th to February 16th, 2018. The theme of the 2018 Winter Youth Assembly was Innovation and Collaboration for a Sustainable World.

Students and young professionals engaged in seminars, workshops, and presentations to dialogue about the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Agenda includes 17 goals which aim to eradicate poverty, protect the planet, all while encouraging continued prosperity. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals, also known as the SDGs, seek to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies free of fear and violence.

The 17 SDGs envision a world free of poverty, with universal literacy and equitable access to all levels of quality education; a world committed to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene; a world with sufficient, safe, affordable and nutritious food; a world with safe human habitats and universal access to sustainable energy; a world which honors universal respect for human rights, dignity, culture, race, and ethnicity; a world in which every child grows up free from violence and exploitation; a world in which every woman and girl enjoys full gender equality with all legal, social and economic barriers to their empowerment removed; a world in which every country enjoys sustained economic growth and decent work for all; a world in which natural resource production and consumption – from air to land, rivers to lakes, oceans to aquifers – is sustainable; a world where we live in harmony with nature, where wildlife is protected.

Of the 17 SDGS, Goals 4 and 16 are paramount to today’s global security issues.

Goal 4: Ensure inclusive, equitable quality education with universal, lifelong learning opportunities. Ensuring that children and adults have access to quality education is one way to eradicate extremism. Some targets include:

• A world, by 2030, where all girls and boys complete free, equitable quality primary and secondary education
• Provide safe, inclusive and effective learning environments for all by building and upgrading educational facilities to be child, disability, and gender-sensitive
• Ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills requisite for global citizenship and sustainable lifestyles
• Ensure that youth and adults achieve literacy and numeracy

Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions

• Significantly reduce all forms of violence and consequent mortality rates
• End all forms of violence towards children including torture, abuse, exploitation, and trafficking
• Promote the rule of national and international law, ensuring equal access to justice

These goals require the cooperation of all nations. All countries, acting in partnership, will implement the SDGs together. Governments should commit to working tirelessly for the implementation of this agenda by 2030.

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 by Rise to Peace

High Level Forum Combating Anti-Muslim Discrimination and Hatred

High Level Forum Combating Anti-Muslim Discrimination and Hatred

Encountering Ahmad Mohibi and two other young millennials at the United Nations for the High Level Forum Combating Anti-Muslim Discrimination and Hatred on January 17, 2017 was inspirational and brought a depth of participation and meaning to this insightful informative forum. Many of the speakers and panelists alluded to similar facts: the rising number of hate crimes, the underreported number of incidences, the collaboration, networking and partnerships among government, civil society, faith based, business and community groups. One distressing statement was repeated several times: Isn’t it sad that there has to be this meeting – a high level forum on combatting anti-Muslim discrimination and hatred?

As the day went on, as speakers and panelists spoke and as participants raised their questions, the energy in the room seemed very focused on addressing all forms of hatred and discrimination, including anti-Muslim discrimination and hatred. Some of the phrases of speakers and panelists that come back to inspire me to action are:

  1. Extraordinary courage of those standing up to discrimination and hatred.
  2. Psychological impact, especially of children being bullied in school.
  3. Those present at today’s meeting are bridge builders.
  4. Need an alternative narrative – one that recognizes, understands, challenges and corrects the current narrative which is negative: that Muslims are terrorists, violent and victims. We need a realistic narrative that tells the true story of who Muslims are – Muslims are diverse, are Latino, Black, Arab, are in all professions and work places, are responsible citizens.

The words of Ahmad have left an indelible impression on my mind and heart, “My parents taught me to value the richness of diversity; to respect all people and see each person as valuable and important. Where would I be if I had not had my parents as role models? Where would I be if as an English translator in Afghanistan I had not met men and women who mentored me in values that emphasize respect, inclusively and interdependence? I want to give back. I want to bring the education, the awareness, the resources I had to those drawn to terrorism so they can know another way.” These are the words of a 28 year-old who has seen and known violence and is choosing to address it nonviolently through education and awareness. The Forum and encounters with these bridge builders has left me more knowledgeable and committed.

Submitted by Carol De Angelo, SC, January 19, 2017

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