LONDON / MUNICH — As Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer prepares for the first official visit of a British leader to China since 2018, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and a coalition of international human rights organizations have issued a stark warning: economic interests must not supersede the UK’s moral obligation to address the ongoing Uyghur genocide.
In a formal press release published on its official website on January 23, 2026, the WUC urged the Prime Minister to utilize this diplomatic window to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for "egregious crimes" in East Turkistan. This call for action was echoed by a separate joint letter dated January 22, 2026, coordinated by Article 19 and Fortify Rights, and signed by a broad coalition including Reporters Without Borders and various Tibetan rights groups.
A Deteriorating Human Rights Landscape
The WUC expressed deep apprehension regarding the UK government’s stated objective to boost economic and political ties with Beijing. Since the last Prime Ministerial visit six years ago, the WUC notes that there have been "no significant policy changes" in East Turkistan. Instead, the situation has worsened.
The organization pointed to a January 2026 statement from UN experts working with the OHCHR, which warned that the scale of forced labor in the region may now amount to "enslavement as a crime against humanity." Estimates suggest that over one million Uyghurs and 650,000 Tibetans remain ensnared in these state-sponsored labor programs.
"This is a great opportunity for the UK to directly engage with the Chinese government on human rights issues and table concrete expectations," stated WUC President Turgunjan Alawdun. "The UK has long voiced concerns in multilateral spaces, and we expect it does the same in its bilateral exchanges with China."
Beyond Borders: Transnational Repression
A critical focal point of the recent appeals is the CCP’s increasing interference within British borders. The WUC highlighted the 2025 termination of a research project at Sheffield Hallam University—a move forced after staff were interrogated by Chinese state security in Beijing.
Furthermore, the joint letter from Article 19 emphasized the plight of British citizen Jimmy Lai, who remains imprisoned in Hong Kong. The coalition urged Starmer to do "everything possible" to secure Lai’s release and to address the broader erosion of democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong.
Strategic Demands for the Visit
The World Uyghur Congress has outlined a specific mandate for the Prime Minister’s discussions with Xi Jinping:
Direct Recognition: Substantively raise the Uyghur genocide and individual cases of political prisoners during all official discussions.
Legislative Action: Push for a binding resolution in the UK to prohibit the import of commodities produced through forced labor.
Domestic Protection: Ensure that UK institutions are trained to identify and combat "transnational repression" to protect the Uyghur diaspora and British academics from state-linked harassment.
International Compliance: Pressure Beijing to honor International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions regarding the abolition of forced labor.
The advocacy groups maintain that for the UK to have a "normal" relationship with China, the CCP must first honor its international human rights obligations. As the visit commences in the final week of January, the global human rights community remains watchful, demanding that the "principled stance" once championing by British MPs be reflected in the Prime Minister’s private and public dialogues in Beijing.
