Millions of Uyghurs are being put into concentration camps in China. In the camps they are being tortured, sterilized, and forced into labor. New leaked reports indicate plans by the Chinese government to kill a third of all Uyghurs (https://bylinetimes.com/2020/08/24/death-is-everywhere-millions-more-uyghurs-missing/). This is the biggest human rights abuse since the Holocaust.

The UConn chapter of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) has been spreading misinformation amongst faculty and students at UConn, sending out emails saying the genocide is a lie. Denying a genocide confirmed by every reputable news source and exceeded in scale only by the Holocaust is extremely dangerous. CSSA chapters at other universities in the United States and Canada have been known for spreading this type of propaganda and some CSSAs have even been shut down due to similar behavior (https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3036309/chinese-student-association-mcmaster-university-loses-appeal). Through this petition, the UConn Muslim Student Association is demanding the University use its platform to publicly condemn this dangerous behavior and condemn the entire genocide. The students and faculty responsible for this misinformation must be held accountable. No student group should ever be allowed to lie about such an egregious human rights abuse. If UConn takes action and speaks up about this issue, it could inspire more higher education institutions to condemn the actions of the Chinese government and deter other CSSAs from spreading misinformation within other universities. 

UConn also has a multi-million dollar deal with Nike until 2023 (https://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-football/hc-uconn-nike-0728-20170727-story.html). Despite making several public statements denying the use of Uyghur forced labor, Nike has been caught using Uyghur forced labor in some of its factories (https://www.aspi.org.au/report/uyghurs-sale). UConn is a member of the Worker Rights Consortium (https://www.workersrights.org/affiliates/affiliate-institutions/) and has pledged to avoid being involved with Uyghur labor (https://www.workersrights.org/communications-to-affiliates/guidance-to-licensees-on-uyghur-forced-labor/). We are calling on UConn to uphold their values and honor the commitments to human rights they have made. They need to reassess their deal with Nike and not stand with companies who are profiting off of a genocide. 

All the names from the petition will be used to create a giant piece of art that will be projected onto a prominent location on campus, raising awareness about the crisis and our efforts. Please share this petition with other UConn students, faculty, and staff. If you want to further support our efforts, you can  with the title  donate directly to ICNA Relief's fund for Uyghur orphan and widow refugees living in Turkey (https://icnareliefcanada.ca/uyghur-relief). All donations will go to ICNA Relief Canada's fund. If you donated directly, email screenshots or confirmations of your donation to uconnmsa@gmail.com with the subject line "Uyghur Petition-Full name." For every dollar you donate, we'll increase the size of your name in the artwork. **IMPORTANT: If you want to donate, please either use venmo or donate directly to ICNA Relief Canada. When change.org asks you to donate after submitting the petition, you are donating to their website and not the Uyghur fund.** You can send any questions to our MSA email.