Participation in the 8th Assembly of the World Uighur Congress

During October 24th and 25th, CADAL’s General Director, Gabriel C. Salvia, participated in the meeting held in Sarajevo, being the only attendee from Latin America. Elected delegates from over 20 countries, including from Europe, Australia, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Türkiye and Central Asia went to Sarajevo to participate in the Assembly, which ended on October 27th.

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) strives to promote democracy, human rights and freedom for the Uyghur people through peaceful, nonviolent, and democratic means in order to determine their political future.

According to the WUC’s by-laws, its General Assembly is convened every three years, during which the WUC will elect the organisation’s leadership, discuss strategic directions, and develop effective strategies to raise the Uyghur issue in international fora. The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) 8th General Assembly began on October 25th, in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Despite the increasing pressure and threats from the Chinese government and its proxies, the WUC delegates have come in great numbers to attend this important event and exercise their right to vote.

The General Assembly was preceded by an international conference: From the Bosnian to the Uyghur Genocide: Lessons Learned. This conference comprised five different panel discussions with international and Uyghur scholars, members of parliament, journalists and civil society representatives. High level speakers included Sir Geoffrey Nice, lead prosecutor at Slobodan Milosovic’s trial during the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and Chair of the Uyghur Tribunal, Vice-President of the Czech Senate, Jiri Oberfalzer and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Kelley Currie. Topics included atrocity crimes, transitional justice, international accountability, genocide denial, transnational repression and solidarity building.

CADAL’s General Director participated in the panel “Bridging Divides: the power of solidarity in social movements”.