By Tursun Uyghur, April 20, 2024
Munich- Zumretay Arkin, Uyghur Canadian , human rights activist, director of global advocacy and chair of the Women’s Committee at the World Uyghur Congress,spokesperson for the World Uyghur Congress, receiver of 2024 Freedom of Worship Award by The Roosevelt Foundation.
Zumretay Arkin, born and grew up in 1993 in Ürümqi, the capital of Uyghur Homeland, and move to Canada with her parents .
According to inquiries by Uyghur Times, Zumretay Arkin led WUC’s youth team to organize multiple community events, mobilized partners for human rights rallies and protests, and appeared in hundreds of high-level international advocacy events, including human rights panels at the United Nations, as well as numerous media interviews. She is also an expert in forced labor practices of Chinese government-affiliated businesses in and outside of China that subject Uyghurs to slave labor.
In April 12, 2024, Zumretay Arkin was presented the Freedom of Worship Award at a ceremony attended by members of the Dutch royal family and Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Based in the Netherlands, the Roosevelt Foundation honors individuals and organizations committed to protecting the Four Freedoms — freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear — proclaimed by former U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt in a 1941 speech.
The Roosevelt Foundation said in its website “Zumretay Arkin has been campaigning for years for the rights of Uyghurs, a people in western China. Arkin draws international attention to the suppression of religious freedom and violation of the Uyghur people’s human rights. She has founded a Uyghur friendship group for women worldwide and is working tirelessly to support Uyghur refugees. She is also a spokesperson for the World Uyghur Congress. She advocates for the protection and preservation of Uyghur culture, religion and language in international forums, including the United Nations. Arkin gives a voice to the voiceless.”
Zumretay Arkin is also presenter of the 2022 Courage Award at the 14th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy.
