Dear High Representative and European Union Foreign Ministers,

RE: Joint diplomatic boycott action of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

We are a coalition of over 250 global campaign groups representing Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hongkongers, Chinese, Southern Mongolians, Taiwanese, and other affected and concerned communities. Ahead of the European Council Summit, we urge EU leaders to take strong multilateral action by committing to a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

On 9 December an independent tribunal found China was carrying out “a deliberate, systematic and concerted policy” to bring about “long-term reduction of Uyghur and other Turkic people “, and such constituted genocide and crimes against humanity under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

For EU leaders or diplomats to attend the Beijing 2022 Winter Games in the knowledge that the host state is enacting a genocide would be an act of complicity and an enabling of China’s plan to ‘sport wash’ their human rights abuses.

Further to the active genocide against the Uyghur people, new evidence released this week shows that close to 1-million Tibetan children are being housed by Chinese authorities in colonial boarding schools, cut off from their parents, families, culture, and religion, and faced with intense political indoctrination. In Hong Kong, three more democracy activists have been found ‘guilty’ for taking part in a vigil to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre and have been sentenced to up to 14-months in jail simply for taking part in a peaceful protest.

There is no prospect of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games playing a positive role for human rights or encouraging the Chinese government to halt the above human rights violations. As the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics showed, the Chinese government will instead interpret the lack of action by governments and the presence of leaders and dignitaries at the opening and closing ceremonies as a message that it risks no serious consequences for its actions.

Governments must now prove that there is the political will to stand up against China’s despicable human rights abuses and crimes against humanity. In this last week we have seen the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia all make commitments to boycott Beijing 2022, and it is now time for every government around to stand on the right side of history. The Chinese government is aware that the EU is in a uniquely powerful position due to its ability to act as a bloc to stand for human rights. A joint boycott by EU countries has the potential to be the strongest statement yet by governments who care about defending human rights.

We, therefore, call on EU leaders to urgently commit to a joint multilateral diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022.

Yours sincerely,

Mandie McKeown, International Tibet Network
Dolkun Isa, World Uyghur Congress
Frances Hui, We The Hongkongers
Bhuchung Tsering, International Campaign for Tibet
Teng Biao, China Against the Death Penalty
Dorjee Tseten, Students for a Free Tibet
Rushan Abbas, Campaign for Uyghurs
Jenny Wang, Keep Taiwan Free
Lhadon Tethong, Tibet Action Institute
Tashi Shitsetsang, Tibetan Youth Association Europe
John Jones, Free Tibet
Dr Zoe Bedford, Australia Tibet Council
周锋锁 Zhou Fengsuo, Humanitarian China
Mattias Bjornerstedt, Swedish Tibet Committee 
Omer Kanat, Uyghur Human Rights Project
Enghebatu Togochog, Southern Mongolian Human Rights Center

on behalf of the following organisations: