Decision of The Court of the Citizens of World on the Proposed Indictment of Xi Jinping – The Opinion of Presiding Judge Z. M. Yacoob

[Z.M. Yacoob is a former Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa]

‘The Court of the Citizens of the World’ – a people’s tribunal – was organized by the Cinema for Peace Foundation, relating to alleged crimes committed by Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China.  The tribunal considered confirmation of an indictment for the crime of aggression, the crime of genocide, and crimes against humanity as proposed by a Prosecution team, and challenged by a Defence team, and heard witnesses and received documentary evidence during 8 – 12 July 2024 in public hearings in The Hague. The three judges at this tribunal – Z. M. Yacoob, Stephen Rapp and Bhavani Fonseka – came to a decision regarding confirmation of the charges, and these posts are their individual opinions, in which all concurred, pronounced at the last hearing of the tribunal on 12 July 2024.

12 July 2024

Introduction

This opinion concerns the liability of the accused, Xi Jinping in his capacity as the President of the People’s Republic of China (China) for genocide and crimes against humanity committed in the Xinjiang autonomous region (XUAR), during at least the period 14 March 2013 until 24 May 2024. An opinion was orally delivered on 12 July 2024 as part of a wider opinion. This is a tighter, concise and more considered version of the earlier oral opinion.

Broadly the accused has been indicted for genocide and crimes against humanity contrary to Article 6(b) (d) and (e) and Article 7(1)(d) (e) (f) (g) (h) and (i) of the Rome Statute. We were required to confirm the indictment if persuaded by the evidence that there are substantial grounds to conclude that he was liable. We were convinced and we have confirmed the indictment.

The Evidence

Evidence led from a large number of witnesses confirm that:

1. The Uyghur community is a distinct, defined community following the Islamic faith and located wholly and exclusively in an area referred to as the Xinjiang autonomous region (XUAR) of China. Uyghurs comprises about 11 million of the 25 million population of Xinjiang.
2. The whole community in the entire region has been systematically and continuously oppressed and abused during at least the whole of the eleven years period.  The victims of this policies number in the millions and include a majority of the Uyghur population.
3. The Chinese master plan was to ensure, regardless of the intense suffering and serious violation of human rights that may be caused by this objective, the creation of single Chinese society, culture, way of life and religious leaning.  All this, even though the plan inevitably would result in the annihilation of the Uyghur people, their way of life and their religious convictions.
4. In more concrete terms, the plan was implemented widely in the sense of the entire Xinjiang autonomous region (XUAR) by coordinated action on the part of government actors. These actions included control, surveillance and continuous monitoring and evaluation of whether progress was being achieved in creating a “one China” with the Uyghur culture and religion being compromised and destroyed at every turn.
5. The plan as implemented included forcible sterilisation, permanent placement of birth control devices, separation of families, and other coercive measures intended to reduce Uyghur births, and resulting in an 80% reduction in the Uyghur birth rate, evidencing an intent to destroy the Uyghur population in significant part. 
6. The master plan referred to entailed the creation of prisons, other types of confinement, government-run boarding schools and so-called educational institutions throughout the length and breadth of the Xinjiang autonomous region (XUAR).
7. Ironically it was this so-called autonomy and the defined nature of the community, that presented the President with the ideal opportunity to intervene mercilessly and destructively.
8. The President was undoubtedly responsible for the commission of all the crimes indicted in his capacity as the supreme leader; a President who exercised unqualified power and authority over the whole of China and its government.
9. In the various institutions specifically created to build “one China,” people were admitted by force and compelled to undergo reorientation and complete indoctrination programming fundamentally to eradicate their belief systems and values.
10. People were mercilessly tortured until they voiced complete agreement with the Chinese system and way of life acknowledging wholly and without qualification the authority, rightness and moral rectitude of the accused President.
11. We were presented with credible evidence that in these institutions of “learning” people were tortured and subject to bullying as if they were of no consequences.  Indeed, the sexual abuse of women was horrendous.  Women were treated as if they were objects, without feelings, pieces of unworthy wood or paper.
12. We heard evidence of victims, workers, community and religious leaders who testified convincingly to all the crimes committed against them.

There was evidence of all the crimes against humanity for which the President was indicted.  Before particularising these allegations, it must be stated that the Defence did a wonderful job of cross-examining witnesses all of whom survived rigorous cross-examination convincingly.  The Defence took a number of points, all of which were considered carefully and were found not to materially dent the evidence presented by the Prosecution.  One particular point argued strongly by the Defence was that the expert witnesses were all biased and that they admitted to their bias under cross-examination. The simple answer to this in our view is that that all human beings are biased.  The true question to be answered is whether the evidence sufficiently justified the conclusions which the experts made, bearing in mind their admission of bias and the reasons for their conclusions.  We have considered this aspect carefully as well and conclude that their evidence must be accepted.

The Indictment

All the allegations in the indictment as particularised below have been established in as much as there are substantial grounds for concluding that they have been committed:

1. All the relevant counts in the indictment were for Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity committed at least in the eleven years between 2013 and 2024 and, according to the evidence, were on a wide scale and substantial, committed by government actors of China under the accused President’s direction and control.  Had the President not authorised these oppressive policies and deeds no government actor would have dared to continue execution of the master plan.
2. Sufficient evidence was led on the following counts, with the numbers amended in the Confirmed Indictment because of the non-confirmation of proposed Count 1 as to the Crime of Aggression:

i. Count 4, Genocide, contrary to Article 6(b), (d) and (e) of the Rome Statute

ii. Count 5, Crime Against Humanity of Imprisonment or Severe Deprivation of Physical Liberty contrary to Article 7(1)(e) of the Rome Statute

iii. Count 6, Crime Against Humanity of Torture contrary to Article 7(1)(f) of the Rome Statute

iv. Count 7, Crime Against Humanity of Rape, Sexual Violence, and Enforced Sterilisation contrary to Article 7(1)(g) the Rome Statute

v. Count 8, Crime Against Humanity of Forcible Transfer of Population (children) contrary to Article 7(1)(d) the Rome Statute

vi. Count 9, Crime Against Humanity, Forcible Transfer of the Population (forced labour) contrary to Article 7(1)(d) of the Rome Statute

vii. Count 10, Crime Against Humanity of Persecution contrary to Article 7(1)(h) the Rome Statute and

viii. Count 11, Crime Against Humanity of Enforced Disappearance contrary to Article 7(1)(i) of the Rome Statute