Ten years have passed since the Chinese government launched one of the most extensive campaigns of mass repression in the twenty-first century. At the beginning in 2016, millions of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan were arbitrarily detained in a vast network of internment camps. While some of these facilities have since been closed or rebranded, the policies that gave rise to them have not disappeared. Instead, they have evolved into a more sophisticated system of surveillance, forced labor, family separation, cultural destruction, and forced assimilation.
Despite the gravity of these crimes, the Uyghur genocide is gradually fading from the international spotlight. The world’s attention has shifted to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, escalating conflicts across the Middle East. Although these crises rightfully demand urgent attention, the suffering of the Uyghur people has not ended simply because global headlines have moved elsewhere.
Against this backdrop, the 3rd International Uyghur Forum was convened in Berlin from June 11 to 13, 2026.
