We are clear that China's actions in Xinjiang represent gross violations of human rights, for which China must be held to account. However it is the long-standing policy of the British Government not to make determinations in relation to genocide. Genocide is a crime and there must be no impunity for it. As with other crimes, judgment should be made after all available evidence has been considered by a competent court. The UK has led international efforts to hold China to account at the UN, imposed sanctions on senior Chinese Government officials, and announced measures to help ensure no UK organisations are complicit in these violations through their supply chains. We will continue to act with our international partners to increase the pressure on China to change its behaviour.

The Government has previously imposed sanctions against Chinese Government officials and an entity responsible for enforcing China's repressive policies in Xinjiang. These measures were taken alongside the US, EU and Canada in an unprecedented joint action. While we do not speculate about possible future designations, as to do so may undermine their effectiveness, we will continue to keep all potential listings and evidence under review.

As the Foreign Secretary made clear in her statement of 24 May (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-statement-on-xinjiang-24-may-2022), these latest reports provide further shocking details of China's gross human rights violations in Xinjiang. We have raised our serious concerns about this new and compelling evidence with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing and the Chinese Embassy in London.

We will continue to raise our deep concern about the situation in Xinjiang directly with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels. The Prime Minister did so most recently in a telephone call with President Xi on 25 March.

The Government has previously imposed sanctions against Chinese Government officials and an entity responsible for enforcing China's repressive policies in Xinjiang. These measures were taken alongside the US, EU and Canada in an unprecedented joint action. While we do not speculate about possible future designations, as to do so may undermine their effectiveness, we will continue to keep all potential listings and evidence under review.

HM Government has helped make sure that British businesses are not complicit in the violation of rights and responsibilities occurring in Xinjiang through their supply chains by requiring them to report openly on steps taken to tackle modern slavery.

Under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more which carry on a business (or part of a business) in the United Kingdom, wherever incorporated or formed, are required to publish annual modern slavery statements, setting out steps taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.

The sanctions announced by the Foreign Secretary in March imposed asset freezes and travel bans on four senior Chinese officials and one entity responsible for the egregious human rights violations taking place in Xinjiang. By acting with 29 other countries on an agreed set of designations, we increased the reach and impact of these measures and sent the clearest possible signal of the international community's serious concern and collective willingness to act. Sanctions remain one response among a number of diplomatic tools that we deploy around the world to help achieve the UK's foreign policy goals. We consider them to be most effective when backed by co-ordinated, collective action, as we took in March. We continue to keep all evidence and potential listings under close review.

The sanctions announced by the Foreign Secretary in March imposed asset freezes and travel bans on four senior Chinese officials and one entity responsible for the egregious human rights violations taking place in Xinjiang. By acting with 29 other countries on an agreed set of designations, we increased the reach and impact of these measures and sent the clearest possible signal of the international community's serious concern and collective willingness to act. Sanctions remain one response among a number of diplomatic tools that we deploy around the world to help achieve the UK's foreign policy goals. We consider them to be most effective when backed by co-ordinated, collective action, as we took in March. We continue to keep all evidence and potential listings under close review.

The UK government has consistently led international efforts to hold China to account for its human rights violations in Xinjiang. We led the first two statements on Xinjiang at the UN and have utilised our diplomatic network to raise the issue up the international agenda. We have been successful in building the international caucus of countries calling out China, with 39 countries supporting a statement at the UN third committee last October.

The Foreign Secretary has also repeatedly urged China to grant urgent and unfettered access to Xinjiang for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights or another independent fact-finding expert. He most recently raised this matter directly with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on 27 May, and in an address to the Human Rights Council on 22 February. We will continue to work closely with our partners and take every opportunity to hold China to account for its violations in Xinjiang in the UN's human rights bodies.

We have serious concerns about the gross violation of human rights occurring in Xinjiang, including the extra-judicial detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in 'political re-education camps'; systematic restrictions on Uyghur culture and the practice of Islam; and extensive and invasive surveillance targeting minorities.

The UK Government has led international efforts to hold China to account. We led the first two statements on Xinjiang at the UN and have utilised our diplomatic network to raise the issue up the international agenda. In January, we announced a package of measures to help ensure no UK organisation is complicit in human rights violations in China, and in March we imposed asset freezes and travel bans against four senior Chinese government officials and one entity, alongside the EU, US and Canada. The Foreign Secretary has raised the UK's serious concerns directly with Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi on a number of occasions, most recently on 27 May, and has repeatedly called for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, or another UN expert to be allowed unfettered access to Xinjiang.

The Government will continue to demonstrate international leadership to hold China to account for its gross violations of human rights in Xinjiang, including at the UN. On 6 October 2020, the UK and 38 other countries joined a statement at the UN Third Committee in New York expressing deep concern at the situation in Xinjiang. On 12 January, the Foreign Secretary announced a robust package of measures to help ensure that British organisations, whether public or private sector, are not complicit in, nor profiting from, the human rights violations in Xinjiang. We have also repeatedly urged China to allow the UN Human Rights Commissioner unfettered access to the region.

The Foreign Secretary has raised the situation in Xinjiang with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi, on a number of occasions in the past year. I [Minister Adams] have also raised the issue with the Chinese Ambassador. Officials regularly underline our concern to the Chinese Embassy in London, most recently on 15 January 2021. Through this bilateral contact, our strong public statements, and action at the UN, the Chinese authorities can be in no doubt about the strength of UK concern.