Uighur Muslims are being tortured and imprisoned. We cannot stay silent when the stakes are so high

We now have overwhelming proof that we are witnessing the largest mass-internment of an ethnic group since the atrocities of the 1940s, says Yasmin Qureshi

(AFP via Getty Images)

For several years, Uighur Muslims living abroad have tried to alert the world to repression and human rights abuses committed by the Chinese government. Now their voices are too loud to ignore. We have all seen the footage of long rows of Uighurs blindfolded and on their knees on a train platform. When history remembers the world’s response, we will not be able to claim ignorance.

Last year myself and colleague Alistair Carmichael MP formed a cross-party group in response to the growing evidence of human rights violations emerging from Xinjiang, a vast province in the north-west of China. Now, there is at last, cross-party engagement from every corner of parliament. Different views on how to proceed are to be expected – there will naturally be disagreements along the way on exactly what path we should take. What we need now is a broad consensus that we are facing something new – perhaps in our lifetimes, unprecedented.