A Uyghur activist received the Four Freedoms award from the Roosevelt Foundation for her tireless advocacy for the rights of Muslim Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang region.
Zumretay Arkin, the director of global advocacy and the chair of the Women’s Committee at the World Uyghur Congress, was honored with the Freedom of Worship Award at a ceremony attended by members of the Dutch royal family and Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The Roosevelt Foundation, based in the Netherlands, recognizes individuals and organizations dedicated to upholding the Four Freedoms—freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear—outlined by former U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941.
The awards ceremony took place in Middelburg, the capital of the Dutch province of Zeeland, where Roosevelt’s ancestors hailed from a village called Oud-Vossemeer.
During her acceptance speech, Arkin delivered a powerful message to the Chinese government, emphasizing that the plight of the Uyghurs is a global issue that necessitates collective action and solidarity to address.
Arkin, 30, urged the international community to speak out against the severe human rights violations in China and to demand accountability from the Chinese government for its actions, particularly in ending the repression of religious freedom and genocide in East Turkistan, the Uyghurs’ preferred term for Xinjiang.
She has been a vocal advocate for Uyghur rights, established a global Uyghur women’s friendship group, and provided support to Uyghur refugees, as highlighted on the Four Freedoms Awards website.
Arkin has actively worked to safeguard and promote Uyghur culture, religion, and language on the international stage, including at the United Nations, according to the website.
The U.S. and several Western nations have condemned China’s harsh repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, labeling it as genocide and crimes against humanity, citing mass detentions, torture, and forced sterilizations and abortions of Uyghur women.
In February 2021, the Dutch Parliament became the first European legislature to pass a nonbinding resolution declaring the treatment of Uyghurs in China as genocide.
Edited by Malcolm Foster.