Argentina court opens investigation into Uyghur genocide claims News
Leonhard Lenz, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Argentina court opens investigation into Uyghur genocide claims

Argentina’s Federal Court of Criminal Cassation revived a complaint alleging that Chinese state agents committed genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghur people in a judgement on Thursday. The complaint was filed by the Uyghur Human Rights Project, World Uyghur Congress and Lawyers for Uyghur Rights.

The Court of Cassation ruled that the Court of Appeal of Buenos Aires’ agreement with prosecutors to archive the complaint lacked sufficient foundation and justification. The appealed ruling failed to provide legal and political reasons for restricting the victims’ rights and refusing to exercise universal jurisdiction. The judgement further stated that Argentina’s judicial system possesses the necessary resources to ensure victims of international crimes can access jurisdiction and achieve reparation for their suffering.

The court ordered the prosecutor to open an investigation, mandating the first-instance judge to commence the investigatory stage of the proceedings.

The criminal complaint was first filed in Buenos Aires on August 16, 2022, under Article 118 of the Argentine Constitution. This article permits the prosecution of international crimes regardless of where they occur. This provision has previously been used to investigate crimes committed against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and the crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela.

Initially, the prosecutor had decided to archive the complaint, reasoning that there were reports of ongoing investigations in Turkey for the same taking place. This led to an appeal before the Buenos Aires Court of Appeal on December 21, 2023, where the prosecutor’s decision had been upheld.

The criminal complaint presents evidence of severe human rights abuses against the Uyghur population in China. Chinese authorities have reportedly detained more than one million Uyghurs in “re-education camps,” where detainees face harsh conditions and indoctrination.

Commenting on the decision of the cassation court to open an investigation, Uyghur Human Rights Project Executive Director Omer Kanat stated:

This decision is great news and strengthens our belief that the Argentinian Courts will see this case through according to Argentinian law. This news gives new hope to Uyghurs. It sends a strong signal to the Chinese authorities that the perpetrators of crimes against the Uyghur people are not being forgotten.

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