On 1 October, the OHCHR issued a statement: “UN experts urge China to end repression of Uyghur and cultural expression of minorities”. The “enforced disappearance” of Rahile Dawut, a Uyghur ethnographer and cultural scholar, was also condemned. The statement was issued by a group of experts who included the special rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Alexandra Xanthaki. In 2023, he convened the first conference of the World Uyghur Christian Union, held at St Matthew’s, Westminster, where speakers explored the Christian history of the Uyghurs, which predates the rise of Islam. His aim was to explore “the possibility and feasibility of resuscitating the Christian faith among the now predominantly Muslims Uyghurs”.
