Michael Polak speaks at the World Uyghur Congress General Assembly in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) held its 8th General Assembly on 25 October in Sarajevo. Elected delegates from over 20 countries, including from Europe, Australia, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Türkiye and Central Asia came to Sarajevo to participate in the Assembly. The topics of discussion included atrocity crimes, transitional justice, international accountability, genocide denial, transnational repression, and solidarity building.

Michael Polak spoke on the panel on the topic of “Bearing Witness: The Critical Role of Documentation in Atrocity Crime Justice.” Michael highlighted how documentation efforts such as the Xinjiang Victims Database and the Uyghur Tribunal’s collection of witness statements and other exhibits, including expert evidence, were absolutely essential in documenting and showing the world what is happening in the Uyghur Region. He also emphasised how the statements from the Uyghur Tribunal were instrumental in relation to the Uyghur universal jurisdiction case in Argentina.

Michael shared the panel with Hamid Sabi, an international lawyer and co-chair of the Uyghur Tribunal; Sean Roberts, professor at the George Washington University and author; Ferenc Gelencser, member of the Hungarian National Assembly; and Rahima Mahmut, WUC UK Director and Executive Director of Stop Uyghur Genocide.

He reiterated that by continuing to build evidence strategically and in the correct format, and by utilising professionals where needed, it is possible to reach a position where the perpetrators of atrocity crimes will have to answer for their actions in criminal courts.

For any questions in relation to this, please contact Michael Polak by email at m.polak@churchcourtchambers.co.uk.