It is the first time members of the minority group have sought to use international law to hold Beijing accountable for their alleged mistreatment, including mass internment and repressive measures against their religion.
A similar litany of allegations formed the basis of fresh visa restrictions that President Donald Trump’s administration introduced in July for several Chinese officials, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo citing “forced labor, arbitrary mass detention, and forced population control” in the autonomous territory of Xinjiang.
The broader allegations filed with the court, widely known as the ICC, are that the Chinese government enforced birth control and sterilization programs among the Uighur population, carried out mass surveillance and massacres inside Xinjiang, and coerced some individuals into becoming informants on Uighurs living overseas.