The right to internal self-determination of the Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, 1949-2019: Implications for the evolution of Uyghur-Chinese state relations

Martin LAVIČKA, M.A.

Doctoral thesis

Abstract:

This Ph.D. dissertation is a contribution to the scientific debate about the Chinese legal system, Chinese policy towards minorities and the rule of law in the PRC. It discusses the level of implementation of the right to internal self-determination in the context of the PRC, with a specific focus on the Uyghur minority living in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It is a predominantly law-based study which combines various interdisciplinary elements, such as politics and history. The central question of this dissertation is what constitutes the right to internal self-determination and whether there are legal guarantees and legal enforcement mechanisms for this right in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. This dissertation identifies the core values constituting the right to internal self-determination as non-discrimination and freedom in the political, economic, social, and cultural pursuits of the people. These values are nominally guaranteed and protected by China's jurisprudence as Beijing portrays itself as a responsible international actor. This study shows that the actual situation is quite the opposite. There is no political will to endorse and implement international human rights standards in China, nor to clarify the considerably vague formulations of the relevant legal provisions. Although the primary concern of this research is internal self-determination, in case of grave breaches, external self-determination as a remedy of last resort is viewed as legally plausible. This dissertation suggests that it is impossible to talk about self-determination in China because the "self" has no place in contemporary Chinese politics.

Abstract:

This Ph.D. dissertation is a contribution to the scientific debate about the Chinese legal system, Chinese policy towards minorities and the rule of law in the PRC. It discusses the level of implementation of the right to internal self-determination in the context of the PRC, with a specific focus on the Uyghur minority living in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It is a predominantly law-based study which combines various interdisciplinary elements, such as politics and history. The central question of this dissertation is what constitutes the right to internal self-determination and whether there are legal guarantees and legal enforcement mechanisms for this right in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. This dissertation identifies the core values constituting the right to internal self-determination as non-discrimination and freedom in the political, economic, social, and cultural pursuits of the people. These values are nominally guaranteed and protected by China's jurisprudence as Beijing portrays itself as a responsible international actor. This study shows that the actual situation is quite the opposite. There is no political will to endorse and implement international human rights standards in China, nor to clarify the considerably vague formulations of the relevant legal provisions. Although the primary concern of this research is internal self-determination, in case of grave breaches, external self-determination as a remedy of last resort is viewed as legally plausible. This dissertation suggests that it is impossible to talk about self-determination in China because the "self" has no place in contemporary Chinese politics.

Keywords

China, self-determination, Xinjiang, human rights law, ethnic policy

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 12. 3. 2021

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: prof. PhDr. Jiří Lach, M.A., Ph.D., prof. PhDr. Jiří Lach, M.A., Ph.D.

Palacký University Olomouc

Faculty of Arts

Doctoral programme / field:
Politology / Politology