Argentine court orders investigation into genocide of the Uighurs

On July 11, 2024, Argentina’s Federal Court of Criminal Cassation announced its decision in a case concerning the Uyghur genocide and ordered the prosecutor to open an investigation. The decision followed a criminal complaint originally filed in August 2022 by three nongovernmental organizations, including the World Uyghur Congress, the Uyghur Human Rights Project, and Lawyers for Uyghur Rights, outlining international crimes against the Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in Xinjiang, China, and the identities of those primarily responsible for these crimes. The information submitted with the complaint included evidence of forced labor, forced abortion and sterilization, torture, mass internment in camps, and killings. The complaint was filed based on the universal jurisdiction provision in Article 118 of the Argentine Constitution. It allows for charges of international crimes (such as genocide, crimes against humanity and torture) to be heard by any national court in Argentina, regardless of where the crimes were committed. This provision has previously been applied in the investigation of international crimes against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and crimes against humanity in Venezuela.

After the criminal complaint was filed, the prosecutor decided to close the case because there were reports that a criminal complaint was pending in Turkey. In November 2023, victims from the Uyghur community appealed the decision. A hearing was held in December 2023, where the court found that there was no evidence that the issue of Uyghur genocide was being considered by Turkish courts. At that time, the judges agreed with the prosecutor’s decision.

In its July 2024 ruling, the Court of Cassation found that the Buenos Aires Court of Appeal had wrongly agreed with the prosecutor’s decision to close the complaint and ordered the prosecutor to open an investigation. Once the case is opened by the Court of First Instance, the investigation phase begins, during which victims are invited to testify. This gives the Uyghur people the opportunity to testify before a criminal court about the atrocities committed against the community. After hearing this evidence, the court can bring charges against the accused, issue arrest warrants and bring the case to trial.

The July 2024 decision by Argentina’s Federal Court of Penal Castration is an important step to ensure justice and accountability for the community, especially since other legal options are severely limited. Despite the efforts of lawyers and civil society organizations, the International Criminal Court (ICC) was unable to pursue the Uyghurs’ case. In its 2020 report, the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) stated that there was no basis for further action at the time. Further evidence was presented to the OTP, but with no progress. Also, despite the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet’s strong report finding that Uyghurs may have been victims of international crimes, and in particular crimes against humanity, the United Nations has taken no further action. The report concluded that “the information currently available to the (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) on the implementation of the government’s stated measures against terrorism and ‘extremism’ in (Xinjiang) during 2017-2019 and possibly thereafter also raises concerns from an international criminal law perspective. The extent of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of Uighur and other predominantly Muslim groups under law and policy, in the context of the restriction and deprivation of basic rights granted individually and collectively, may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.” An attempt to give the UN time to discuss the findings was blocked.

It is vital that victims and survivors of international crimes have access to justice. They have the right to a trial in court and to have an independent arbitrator examine their statements and other available evidence. This will help to reveal the truth about serious human rights violations and give them a glimpse of justice.