Peter Irwin

Manifest Risk: New “Air Silk Road” Cargo Flights Carry Risk of Uyghur Forced Labor into Europe - Uyghur Human Rights Project Air cargo routes are rapidly expanding between Ürümchi and over a dozen European cities. Since June 2024, nine cargo companies have launched new air freight routes between Ürümchi and cities across th...

📊 UHRP research by @peterirwin.bsky.social and
@henrykszad.bsky.social uncovers surge in air cargo flights between Ürümchi and over a dozen European cities.

These ✈️ 📦 routes risk carrying goods linked to Uyghur forced labor directly into European supply chains.

uhrp.org/report/manif...

The Uyghur Reader: Stories We’re Following (Issue 9) - Uyghur Human Rights Project Welcome to the ninth issue of the Uyghur Reader, a biweekly content roundup curated by the staff of the Uyghur Human Rights Project.

📖 Issue 9 of the #UyghurReader is out!

🧵 A biweekly roundup highlighting essential reporting + analysis on the Uyghur crisis (Sep 18 – Oct 1), curated by
@henrykszad.bsky.social @peterirwin.bsky.social @zubayra.bsky.social

uhrp.org/uyghur-reade...

📢 Tribune libre avec Gulbahar Haitiwaji & @peterirwin.bsky.social sur Accor et ses activités au Xinjiang.

« La solution est claire : les entreprises doivent cesser leurs activités au Xinjiang, et les gouvernements doivent les tenir responsables si elles refusent. » (1/2)

Significant new investigation from @robhastings.bsky.social for @theipaper.com shows significant 📈 in imports from Uyghur Region to the 🇬🇧 UK.

The report builds on UHRP research by @peterirwin.bsky.social and @henrykszad.bsky.social showing a surge in cargo flights into the EU and UK.

📊 New UHRP research by @peterirwin.bsky.social and
@henrykszad.bsky.social uncovers surge in air cargo flights between Ürümchi and over a dozen European cities.

These ✈️ 📦 routes risk carrying goods linked to Uyghur forced labor directly into European supply chains.

uhrp.org/report/manif...

China’s new ‘Air Silk Road’ brings thousands of tons of goods from Xinjiang to Europe More than 40 freight routes now connect Europe to the region, where Beijing is accused of subjecting the Uyghur ethnic group to forced labor.

Exclusive @politico.com coverage of research by
@peterirwin.bsky.social + @henrykszad.bsky.social on 📈 in cargo flights from Uyghur Region to Europe.

These ✈️ planes carry goods from sectors at high risk of forced labor.

@glanktree.bsky.social @hannecl.bsky.social

www.politico.eu/article/chin...

Uyghur Deportations from Thailand Part of a Decade of Betrayal - Uyghur Human Rights Project On July 8, 2015, Thai authorities shackled and hooded at least 109 Uyghur men then placed them on a plane bound for China. Chinese state media released footage showing the men, blindfolded and restrai...

New UHRP #Insights💡

"Uyghur Deportations from Thailand Part of a Decade of Betrayal," by @peterirwin.bsky.social.

On July 8, 2015, Thai authorities deported at least 109 Uyghur men to China. Ten years later, #TransnationalRepression has only increased.

uhrp.org/insights/uyg...

Princeton University Press’ Trip into Chinese State Propaganda Erasing Atrocities, and How They Can Support Uyghur Intellectuals - Uyghur Human Rights Project In June 2025, a group of Princeton University Press (PUP) representatives participated in a state-arranged visit to the Uyghur Region. PUP claimed the intention of the trip was to build “inclusive cro...

UHRP #Insights 💡 by @henrykszad.bsky.social + @peterirwin.bsky.social

"Princeton University Press' Trip into Chinese State Propaganda Erasing Atrocities, and How They Can Support Uyghur Intellectuals"

uhrp.org/statement/pr...

It Does Matter Where You Stay: International Hotel Chains in East Turkistan - Uyghur Human Rights Project Five international hotel chains—Accor, Hilton, InterContinental (IHG), Marriott, and Wyndham—currently operate in the Uyghur Region amidst ongoing crimes against humanity and genocide.

Research by @peterirwin.bsky.social @henrykszad.bsky.social + Ben Carrdus from April demonstrated the dramatic 📈 increase in international hotel chains in the Uyghur region.

IHG is operating—and dramatically expanding—its business amidst atrocities.

uhrp.org/report/it-do...

The Uyghur Reader: Stories We’re Following (Issue 2)  - Uyghur Human Rights Project On June 20, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) published a report by Daniel Murphy revealing how South Korean electronics company, LG, directly owns and operates two factories that have rec...

📣 Check out Issue 2 of the #UyghurReader: a biweekly roundup curated by UHRP's @henrykszad.bsky.social and @peterirwin.bsky.social.

Each issue highlights urgent human rights reporting, analysis, and stories from across the Uyghur world—from East Turkistan to the diaspora.

uhrp.org/uyghur-reade...

International Hotel Giants Are Profiting Despite Genocide in Xinjiang Rather than reducing their exposure to the region, companies are on a building spree.

One prominent industry continues to avoid scrutiny for operating in Xinjiang: major international hotel chains, peterirwin.bsky.social and @henrykszad.bsky.social write. Rather than reducing their exposure to the region, these companies are on a building spree.

International Hotel Giants Are Profiting Despite Genocide in Xinjiang Rather than reducing their exposure to the region, companies are on a building spree.

The "naming and shaming" human rights strategy hasn't kept major international hotel chains from expanding their operations in China's Xinjiang province, @peterirwin.bsky.social and @henrykszad.bsky.social write.

International Hotel Giants Are Profiting Despite Genocide in Xinjiang Rather than reducing their exposure to the region, companies are on a building spree.

New op-ed by UHRP's @peterirwin.bsky.social and @henrykszad.bsky.social in @foreignpolicy.com 👉🏼

Despite atrocities, major hotel chains are rapidly expanding in the Uyghur Region.

Shaming China isn't enough if corporations like Marriott and Hilton get a free pass.

foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/02/c...

UHRP Analysis Finds 1 in 26 Uyghurs Imprisoned in Region With World’s Highest Prison Rate - Uyghur Human Rights Project An estimated 1 in 26 Uyghurs and other non-Han people in the Uyghur Region are imprisoned, making up a third of China’s total prison population April 25, 2024 A UHRP Insights column by Ben Carrdus, UH...

Research by Peter Irwin and Ben Carrdus found that the Uyghur Region has the highest imprisonment rate in the world—an estimated 2,234 per 100,000 people.

Uyghurs + other Turkic peoples account for *more than a third* of China’s estimated total prison population.

uhrp.org/insights/uhr...

“We’re All Chinese, Aren’t We?” | Los Angeles Review of Books Jessie Lau ponders Emily Feng’s “Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping’s China.”

"[According to UHRP] an estimated one in 26 Uyghurs in Xinjiang have been imprisoned, and official statistics show that the region had more than 578,000 criminal convictions between 2017 and 2022."

Research by @peterirwin.bsky.social + Ben Carrdus cited.

lareviewofbooks.org/article/were...

Hotel chains should not ‘sanitise’ China abuses in Xinjiang, Uyghur rights group says International hotel chains showing sanitised image of the Xinjiang region are serving Beijing’s propaganda, says rights group

“There is absolutely no way these multibillion-dollar corporations can operate responsibly in this environment – their presence alone normalises and legitimises these abuses,” said Peter Irwin, report co-author.

@the-independent.com coverage of new research.

www.independent.co.uk/asia/china/u...

British hotel chain ‘violating sanctions’ in China Report alleges IHG’s hotels in Xinjiang are participating in the ‘broader suppression’ of the Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority

British chain IHG, which owns #InterContinental, Holiday Inn & other brands, is accused of violating sanctions by building hotels in #China’s Xinjiang where MPs hv said genocide is occurring against Muslim groups, incl #Uyghurs. cc @uyghurproject.bsky.social

www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...

Uyghur rights group calls on hotel chains not to ‘sanitise’ China abuses in Xinjiang Growth in international hotels coincides with government effort to push region as a tourism destination

Peter Irwin, associate director for research and advocacy at UHRP, said: “The government can point to these major companies entrenching themselves [...] as evidence that everything is normal, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary.”

UHRP research cited.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Uyghur rights group calls on hotel chains not to ‘sanitise’ China abuses in Xinjiang Growth in international hotels coincides with government effort to push region as a tourism destination

Uyghur rights group calls on hotel chains not to ‘sanitise’ China abuses in Xinjiang

🆕 New UHRP research on dramatic 📈 increase in int'l hotels chains in the Uyghur region—by @peterirwin.bsky.social, @henrykszad.bsky.social, and Ben Carrdus.

Major 🏨 chains all operating amidst atrocities.

📊 uhrp.org/report/it-does-matter-where-you-stay-international-hotel-chains-in-east-turkistan

Devastating news.

A flight from Bangkok (DMK) left at 4:48 a.m. Thursday, landing in Kashgar at 12:09 p.m. local time.

Trucks with covered windows left the Bangkok prison, where 43 Uyghur men were held, just after 2:00 a.m. Thursday.

The plane almost certainly carried the group of Uyghurs.

Western Brands Cash In On Xinjiang's Tourism Boom - The Wire China China has invested heavily in promoting tourism to Xinjiang. Its efforts are paying off.

Recasting the region for tourism supports the "state narrative of shifting from a region that is unstable [...] and now is ready for visiting and investment."

UHRP Research Director @henrykszad.bsky.social on his #GenocideTours research.

www.thewirechina.com/2025/02/16/x...

On February 5, 1997, Chinese security forces opened fire on Uyghurs peacefully protesting a crackdown on a burgeoning civil society movement.

The Ghulja Massacre is a tragic reminder of the ongoing repression of Uyghurs.

#GhuljaMassacre

Questions grow over UNHCR inaction as Uyghurs in Thailand face deportation threat Human rights advocates are demanding to know why the UN’s refugee agency hasn’t done more to secure the Uyghurs’ right to asylum.

"There are distressing indications that protection of the group from deportation has not been [UNHCR's] top priority," said Ben Carrdus, UHRP senior researcher.

New questions on UNHCR's lack of support for Uyghurs in 🇹🇭 Thailand @6oldberg.bsky.social.

www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature...

Uyghurs detained in Thailand say they face deportation and persecution in China A group of Uyghurs who were detained in Thailand over a decade ago say that the Thai government is preparing to deport them to China, alarming activists who say the men are at risk of abuse and tortur...

Dozens of Uyghurs remain at *high risk* of deportation from Thailand.

"The group has a clear right not to be deported and they’re acting within international law by fleeing China," said @peterirwin.bsky.social for UHRP.

apnews.com/article/uygh...

維吾爾特別法庭：維吾爾種族滅絕認定日 - Uyghur Human Rights Project 在本次名為「維吾爾種族滅絕認定日」（Uyghur Genocide Recognition Day）的活動中，講者們將聚焦於討論獨立維吾爾特別法庭（independent Uyghur Tribunal）以及其將中國政府對維吾爾人的迫害認定為種族滅絕的重要性。

维吾尔人权项目今天将举行的活动🎙️

加入我们（@HKokbore @tengbiao @AbduwelA @FalunInfoCtr)讨论维吾尔法庭的重要性+采取措施追究中国政府种族灭绝责任。

📅2024年12月10日（周二）
⏰美东时间上午10:00~11:00
📍 在线活动 @Facebook @LinkedIn @YouTube
chinese.uhrp.org/event/%e7%b6...

Glad to have my research cited over the last couple weeks:

▶ US-China 🇺🇸 🇨🇳 Economic & Security Review Commission's Annual Report to Congress
▶ Congressional Research Service: Human Rights in China and US Policy

"Islam Dispossessed" was covered exclusively by the BBC + appeared on air after release.

New UHRP #Insights 💡

"Faithfully Implementing Propaganda: Chinese State Media Inserts in Overseas Media" by @henrykszad.bsky.social, @peterirwin.bsky.social and Ben Carrdus.

uhrp.org/insights/faithfully-implementing-propaganda-chinese-state-media-inserts-in-overseas-media/

Uyghur imams targeted in China's Xinjiang crackdown China has targeted Muslim religious leaders, according to a new report, charging many with extremism.

www.bbc.com/news/world-a...

Islam Dispossessed: China’s Persecution of Uyghur Imams and Religious Figures - Uyghur Human Rights Project The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), in partnership with Justice for All, has released a new report detailing the mass detention of Uyghur and other Turkic Muslim imams in East Turkistan, and attem...

In 2021, I compiled a dataset of 1,000+ imams detained or imprisoned in the Uyghur region, with the help of Abduweli Ayup + @henrykszad.bsky.social. I also spoke with five imams overseas to tell their stories of persecution and escape, with the help of @zubayra.bsky.social.

uhrp.org/report/islam...