Think tank in Canada flags China's use of DNA profiling against Uyghur Muslims

New allegations claim that Chinese authorities are racially profiling minority groups to establish a massive DNA database, as the accusations are rising of large-scale human rights breaches and persecution of Uyghurs. China has been chastised for repressing Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region. According to multiple accounts, Beijing detains ethnic minorities in huge detention camps and interferes with their religious practises. Furthermore, they are subjected to mistreatment, including forced labour.

Beijing has always denied the violation of the human rights

Despite overwhelming evidence, Beijing continues to deny that it is violating the human rights of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Research released on August 28 by a Toronto-based think tank detailed how a database is being created to enable selective ethnic cleansing in what might be considered one of the most egregious crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Chinese authorities.

International Forum for Human Rights and Security (IFHRAS) stated, "the incarceration of Uyghur minorities in Chinese detention camps and continued violation of human rights in the Xinjiang region has added another dimension, DNA and racial profiling, in attempts to build a large DNA database to enable selective ethnic cleansing in what perhaps could be labelled as one of the most egregious crimes against humanity that the Chinese authorities have undertaken."

In 2017, bioinformatician Yves Moreau of a Belgian research university uncovered a study in Human Genetics titled "male genetic landscape of China" that addressed a troubling topic. This research was based on a review of 38,000 Y-STR sequences, which are repetitive DNA fragments used in forensic investigations and law enforcement.

According to the IFHRAS study, this research showed several worrisome aspects in the way genetic material was acquired. According to the think tank, the use of genetic data is frequently problematic under human rights norms because of its vulnerability to exploitation and the violation of informed permission requirements when compiling data sets that include DNA from minorities.

Informed consent and privacy are foreign rights to minorities detained by China

The Canadian academics also warned of a slew of difficulties ranging from privacy violations to genetic fingerprinting, all of which, in the hands of an authoritarian China, would severely erode public trust in human genetic studies and the academic community's capacity to maintain confidentiality. According to experts, informed consent and privacy are often foreign rights to minorities detained by Chinese authorities, as nationality trumps all human rights in the CCP's mind.

(Inputs from ANI)

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