GENEVA - UN experts* today expressed serious concern over the increasing criminalisation of Uyghur and other minority cultural expression in China, citing the case of artist Yaxia'er Xiaohelaiti and the enforced disappearance of scholar Rahile Dawut.
"These cases reflect deeply troubling patterns where cultural identity, artistic creativity, and academic work are treated as threats to national security," the experts said. "The right to freely express and participate in cultural life, without discrimination or fear, is a cornerstone of human rights."
Yaxia'er Xiaohelaiti, a 26-year-old Uyghur songwriter performing under the name Uigga, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2024 after being convicted of "promoting extremism" and "possessing extremist materials." The charges reportedly stemmed from his artistic work in the Uyghur language and from owning books regarded as central to the community's cultural history. Prosecutors alleged that his lyrics undermined the State, while civil society actors maintain that his music simply gave voice to his cultural roots.
The experts underscored that cultural rights, including the right to artistic freedom, academic expression, and the use of one's language, are integral to the full enjoyment of human rights. "The creation and sharing of art, in all its forms, is a vital part of the right to take part in cultural life," they said. "States must not suppress music, literature, or language as a means of silencing cultural identities."
The case of Rahile Dawut, a renowned woman ethnographer and cultural scholar, exemplifies the risks faced by those engaged in cultural and academic work. She was forcibly disappeared in 2017 while traveling to Beijing and has not been seen since. Reports suggest that she was secretly tried and sentenced to life imprisonment for alleged separatism, yet her fate and whereabouts remain unacknowledged by authorities.
"Enforced disappearance is an extremely serious violation of several human rights, and a continuing offence until authorities provide verifiable information on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared person," the experts said. They warned that when committed systematically within a specific context, they amount to crimes against humanity.
"States have an obligation to disclose the whereabouts of all persons deprived of liberty to any person with a legitimate interest to safeguard them from all forms of ill-treatment in detention, including gender-based violence, and to ensure that no one is detained in secret or without access to legal and family contact."
They were concerned that a number of individuals from Uyghur and other minority groups have reportedly been detained, convicted, and imprisoned under charges such as "extremism," "separatism," "terrorism," or similar accusations, in connection with their cultural, linguistic, or religious expression.
The experts also raised broader concerns about the use of expansive and ambiguous counter-extremism laws, such as the 2015 Counter-Terrorism Law and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region De-extremification Regulation, which appear to be used to curtail minority cultural and religious expression. While China's 2024 counterterrorism framework includes human rights language, it reportedly fails to establish independent safeguards or repeal repressive measures.
"These frameworks risk silencing not only cultural life, but the imagination and freedom of entire communities," the experts warned. "Culture, creativity, and expression are not threats to be policed - they are human rights to be protected."
"Cultural expression of minorities is not a crime. It must never be conflated with extremism or terrorism. Protecting cultural rights and freedom of expression is essential to upholding human rights and dignity for all," the experts said.
The experts have been in contact with the Chinese authorities on this matter.
