Uyghur Exiles File Landmark UN Petition Challenging China as Colonial Power

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The East Turkistan Government-in-Exile (ETGE) and the East Turkistan National Movement (ETNM) on Tuesday, May 5, submitted a historic petition to the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization (C-24). The filing formally requests the inscription of East Turkistan as a Non-Self-Governing Territory, marking the first time China has been legally challenged as a colonial power before a UN body.

East Turkistan, which China designates as the "Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region," — a colonial name meaning "New Territory" — existed as a sovereign state, most recently as the independent East Turkistan Republic, until the 1949 invasion by the People's Republic of China. The petition argues that no treaty of cession, no plebiscite, and no instrument reflecting the free and genuine will of its peoples has ever legitimized Chinese control. Over 76 years of occupation, the native Turkic population has dropped from 90% to roughly 55%, while Chinese settler populations have surged from under 5% to over 42%.

"More than 80 nations achieved independence through the UN decolonization framework," said Dr. Mamtimin Ala, President of the ETGE. "The peoples of East Turkistan now formally assert that same right. Our struggle is not merely a human rights issue, but an international struggle for decolonization."

The petition follows the failure of existing human rights frameworks to halt the genocide of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other Turkic peoples, now entering its 13th year. Despite a 2022 UN report citing potential "crimes against humanity" and genocide designations by the U.S. and multiple parliaments, mass internment and forced labor continue. In January 2026, UN Special Rapporteurs warned that state-sponsored forced labor transfers may amount to "enslavement as a crime against humanity" under international law.

"This genocide is rooted in China's colonial occupation of East Turkistan," said Salih Hudayar, ETGE Foreign Minister. "Decolonization is the only guarantee of our human rights and very survival."

The filing highlights China's 2026 "Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress" as a tool for ethnic and cultural erasure. The petition asks the General Assembly to:

1. Designate the PRC as an occupying power over the world's largest colonial territory.
2. Affirm East Turkistan's inalienable right to self-determination and independence.
3. Address China's conflict of interest as a colonial power and Security Council member currently sitting on the Decolonization Committee.

About the ETGE:
The East Turkistan Government-in-Exile, established in 2004, is the parliamentary-based provisional body representing East Turkistan and its people. It leads the struggle for the restoration of independence and seeks an end to Chinese colonial occupation and genocide.

Contact:
Salih Hudayar
(202) 599-2244
[email protected]

SOURCE East Turkistan Government-in-Exile