Sinn Féin spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Defence John Brady has expressed his deep concern at reports of the treatment of the Uighur minority in China. 

Speaking today, Teachta Brady said: “Reports coming out of the Xinjiang region in China indicate that there is a systematic campaign by the authorities to reduce the Muslim population there. Some of the practices reported include forced birth control, sterilisations and even abortions. 

“It is further reported that those who defy birth control regulations run the risk of being rounded up and sent to detention camps where they could be subjected to forced labour, and political and religious re-education. 

“There are believed to be around one million Uighurs incarcerated by Chinese authorities.

“While many observers have claimed that the campaign against the Uighurs is part of an attempt to achieve a cultural conformity within China, the reality is that these reports represent a gross breach of human rights.  

“The coercion of women, the invasion of their bodily integrity is an outrage. 

“The forced separation of children from their mothers is horrific.

“The suppression of any ethnic or religious grouping on the basis of their culture or belief system must be opposed.

“I have written to the Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney informing him of my concerns, and to determine what the response of the Irish government will be. 

“I also intend to raise these concerns with the Chinese Ambassador. 

“Sinn Féin will continue to campaign to highlight the plight of those who face persecution, are subject to coercion in any form and continue to be denied basic human rights.”