Stand4Uyghurs will hold a demonstration outside the Chinese Embassy in London on Sunday 5 July inshā’Allāh, marking the 17th anniversary of the Urumqi Massacre, when peaceful protests demanding justice for Uyghur factory workers killed in Guangdong were met with a violent security crackdown that left hundreds dead and led to mass arrests and enforced disappearances.
The protest comes amid continuing evidence of China’s persecution of the Uyghur population in Chinese-occupied East Turkestan. Independent researchers estimate that more than a million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims have been detained since 2017 in a network of camps, where former detainees report torture, forced labour and political indoctrination.
In December 2021, the London-based Uyghur Tribunal, an independent panel chaired by barrister Sir Geoffrey Nice, found beyond reasonable doubt that the Chinese government had committed genocide against the Uyghur people, citing forced sterilisation and coercive birth-control policies designed to suppress the population.[1] Despite this finding, the UK government has so far not imposed targeted sanctions over the abuses.
Organisers say the demonstration is intended to keep pressure on the UK government and the wider international community at a time when trade and diplomatic ties with Beijing continue to discourage many states from speaking out. Stand4Uyghurs will also offer the public a tangible, individual action to take in support of the Uyghur cause: signing the ‘Blood Bargains’ campaign pledge to delete the Shein and Temu apps. Activists, academics and members of the Uyghur community will speak at the event, providing background on what organisers describe as a “forgotten genocide.”
“The Stand4Uyghurs campaign comes at a critical moment. As we challenge the UK government’s complicity in the genocide in Palestine, we must also demand accountability for its engagement with China while it continues to commit crimes against humanity and widespread human rights abuses against the Uyghur people.
“Across the world, communities are resisting oppression, exploitation, and attempts to erase indigenous people’s identity and rights. Stand4Uyghurs brings together grassroots organisations and civil society to demand an end to the genocidal policies targeting Uyghurs and to send a clear message: no government should be allowed to violate human dignity without consequence,” said Maira Khan, Chair of the Stand4Uyghurs coalition.
Event Details
- Date: Sunday 5 July 2026
- Time: 11:30am – 2:30pm
- Location: Chinese Embassy, 49-51 Portland Place, London W1B 1JL
- Nearest Underground stations: Regent’s Park (Bakerloo) or Great Portland Street (Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan)
Source: Stand4Uyghurs
Notes:
[1] uyghurtribunal.com
