Human rights organizations are calling for governments around the world to take a stand against China's killing of prisoners of conscience for their organs.

WASHINGTON, DC, USA, July 22, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Known as forced organ harvesting (FOH), this form of organ trafficking is being perpetrated by the Chinese state against living, innocent people imprisoned for their faith or ethnicity, to supply its expanding organ transplant business.

Just as a proposed new law, H.R. 4132, the Falun Gong Protection Act, unanimously passed the US House of Representatives, the non-governmental organizations - Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) and the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC) - launched a globally significant petition to break through the great wall of silence built by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) around the atrocity of FOH.

The petition calls upon the G7 governments, plus Argentina, Australia, India, Israel, Mexico, South Korea and Taiwan, to “Issue a joint declaration condemning the PRC’s practice of forced organ harvesting, calling for its immediate end, and to implement an intergovernmental action plan.”

Right from its launch in several countries worldwide, the petition was supported by over 20 human rights organizations. This petition is not only a wakeup call for the leaders of the G7 states, it is an opportunity for all people around the globe to take a meaningful stance and to clearly position themselves against this unprecedented human rights violation.

Dr. Torsten Trey, Executive Director of DAFOH, said, “After more than two decades of killing Falun Gong practitioners for organs in an unrelenting genocide by attrition, we are faced with an urgent matter of conscience: will we remain silent and embolden the perpetrator in Beijing, or will we take a courageous stand and say firmly that no human being should be killed for his or her organs, and no country, including China, should be allowed to get away with this crime against humanity. For human dignity to prevail in this world, we must stop forced organ harvesting now.”

The petition calls for investigations “to determine accountability for any acts contrary to the provisions of the Genocide Convention committed against Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs and others in the PRC.”

Distinguished Professor Wendy Rogers, Chair of ETAC’s International Advisory Board stated, “The world must stop turning a blind eye to the crimes against humanity occurring in China. Innocent prisoners of conscience have been, and continue to be, killed for their organs to be used for transplantation. The G7 have the chance to show leadership on this issue; I urge them to act.”

Evidence accumulated over the past 18 years establishes that forced organ harvesting in China exists and is of concern to the international community, yet governments are failing to respond. In 2020, the China Tribunal, an independent people’s tribunal chaired by human rights barrister Sir Geoffrey Nice KC, concluded “beyond reasonable doubt” that China has been forcibly harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience for many years. The Tribunal also found that “Falun Gong practitioners have been one – and probably the main – source of organ supply” and that these crimes amount to crimes against humanity.

In 2021, twelve United Nations Special Rapporteurs and human rights experts sent a formal communication regarding forced organ harvesting to the Chinese Government in response to credible information that Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, Tibetans and Christians are killed for their organs in China.

In 2023, the British Medical Association and Canadian Medical Association supported the launch of a groundbreaking legal advisory and policy guidance published by international law firm, Global Rights Compliance (GRC), that outlines the business and human rights due diligence obligations and complicity risks of interacting with countries where organ trafficking is known to take place. The Advisory highlights China as a high-risk country due to the evidence that forced organ harvesting is taking place.

The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) released a policy statement banning Chinese transplant surgeons from presenting at its conferences and publishing in the ISHLT journal. In 2023, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) recognized in an official statement that there is “overwhelming evidence” that “Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, Christians and others” have been incarcerated and subjected to forced organ harvesting.

The G7 + 7 Petition will be presented to the respective government leaders. NGOs globally are called to action to support the petition.

Andreas Weber, MD
Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting, DAFOH
Andreas.Weber@dafoh.org

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