Inside Xinjiang: How Muslim Minorities Remain Trapped in China’s Ongoing Repression

Amnesty International has raised fresh alarm that Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang remain under relentless repression, three years after the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released its landmark assessment on 31 August 2022. The report concluded that serious human rights violations in the Uyghur region “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.”

Amnesty International Report On Muslim Minorities

In its own findings, Amnesty International documented China’s systematic campaign of mass arbitrary detention, torture, and persecution targeting Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other predominantly Muslim minorities, determining that these amounted to crimes against humanity. Yet, despite clear evidence, Beijing has evaded accountability, and the international community has failed to take decisive action.

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“Three years after the UN report concluded that China was responsible for grave human rights violations in Xinjiang, it is shameful that the international community has failed to act,” said Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s China Director.

She added, “Families have been torn apart, lives destroyed, and communities dismantled by the Chinese authorities’ unrelenting cruelty. The relatives of detainees are still demanding truth, justice and freedom for all those trapped in the Uyghur region.”

Free Xinjiang Detainees’ Campaign

According to Amnesty International, between January and August 2025, the organisation contacted relatives of 126 people named in its ‘Free Xinjiang Detainees’ campaign. Their accounts reveal the ongoing suffering. Amnesty pointed out that Patime, who lost one relative in detention and has another still imprisoned, said the optimism surrounding the UN report has now “vanished,” stressing that with every day of inaction, more families are being torn apart.

Amnesty International reported that other families shared similar pain. “It feels like living with a wound that never heals,” said Mamatjan Juma, whose brother is imprisoned. Relatives described missing milestones, enduring silence from loved ones, and living in constant uncertainty.

Human Rights Emergency In Xinjiang

According to Amnesty International, the situation in Xinjiang is not a domestic affair but a human rights emergency. The organisation has urged the High Commissioner to provide a public update on the 2022 report and pressed UN member states to set up an independent international investigative mechanism.

“The world cannot allow this report to gather dust. Governments must heed survivors’ voices, push for detainees’ release, and deliver justice and reparations to victims.” Amnesty International warned.

(With inputs from ANI)

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