Item 4: General Debate

Organisation: Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)

Speaker: Ziba Murat

Thank you, Madame President.

I am reading this statement at the invitation of CSW.

My name is Ziba Murat. I am the daughter of Uyghur retired medical doctor, Gulshan Abbas.

September 10th, 2018 was the last time I heard my mom’s voice. Since then, I have relentlessly searched for her. It began when my baby was just three months old.  She is now almost three years old. I am still searching for my mother.

My caring, warm-hearted mother became the victim of China’s detention camps. To this day, I have had no information that proves she is alive.

My mother has underlying chronic health conditions, exposing her to a higher risk of grave illness. She needs her family to take care of her and deserves the peaceful, joyful life that a retired medical doctor who served society should enjoy with her grandchildren.

I am not the only person in this horrible situation. Many other Uyghur sons and daughters are left without information, searching for innocent loved ones who have been disappeared by the authorities.

I appeal once again to the Chinese government, which has ignored our pleas for over two years: Give me back what is rightfully mine: my mother. I must communicate with my mother. She must be released immediately on medical parole so she can receive treatment from medical professionals in Urumqi or abroad. Her passport must be returned to her without precondition.

Madame President, this body must fulfil its mandate. Together with CSW, I am urging her release.

Thank you.