Germany: Human rights organizations raised their voice in support of Uighur minorities

Showing strong stand against China’s international repression against Uighur minorities, 11 human rights organisations have jointly formed a coalition in Germany to express support, said a statement issued by the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) on Tuesday.

The coalition called “Coalition against International Repression in Germany” represents victims of international repression, which is believed to originate from China, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, Belarus, Egypt, Turkey, Syria and Iran.

According to the report, international repression is a strategy used by authoritarian governments to silence their critics abroad. The statement noted that deported individuals are often not safe even in Germany; they face threats, intimidation, or even violent persecution from their countries of origin.

The aim of the alliance is to collectively combat threats and fear in Germany.

“When people in Germany are persecuted, they are until now alone with their fears. International repression is not only a threat to individuals, but also a challenge to democracy and the rule of law. It requires greater attention and political responses in Germany. We have come together as a coalition to send a clear message: victims of international repression must be taken seriously and protected,” David Missal, a spokesman for Tibet Initiative Germany, said in the statement.

The Transnational Repression Coalition is committed to raising awareness among people, policymakers and officials dealing with vulnerable groups at risk. It advises on the development of political and civil society solutions and serves as a strong voice for affected people.

The founding members of the coalition include Tibet Initiative Deutschland, Microscope Media, JAM, Human Rights Defenders Network – German Section, Law and Democracy Support Foundation (LDSF), Freiheit für Hong Kong, Mangmang Magazine, Reporter ohne Grenzen (RSF), Belarusian Gemeinschaft Razam, World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and Verein der Tibeter in Deutschland. These German human rights and migration organisations aim to raise awareness of the threat of transnational repression (TNR) and its impact on human rights, freedom and security in Germany.

Due to rising authoritarianism around the world, more and more critical voices, dissidents, human rights defenders, members of persecuted peoples and journalists are being forced into exile. Germany is an important port for members of these groups.

Open criticism, networking among the diaspora community and access to native areas make them a target for authoritarian regimes and their supporters. According to the WUC statement, in Germany too, critical voices and members of threatened groups face repression from their countries of origin.

According to the WUC, TNR is a strategy used by foreign governments to intimidate, silence or harm members of migrant and exile communities across borders in order to prevent them from exercising their human rights as defined in the German Basic Law. TNR includes physical and digital attacks, stalking, surveillance, obstruction of movement, attempts to force people back to their country of residence and threats from a distance, such as coercion by proxy.

The WUC elaborated that while some threats may be punishable under German criminal law, in many cases, attacks are deliberately committed below the threshold of criminal liability. It is often obvious that they originate from state actors, but this is often difficult to prove in court. Important contact points, such as law enforcement agencies, do not have experience of international repression. This makes it difficult to acknowledge, understand, persecute and counter TNR in Germany.