Based on firsthand accounts and previously undisclosed Communist Party of China and government documents, this report unveils for the first time the complex architecture of law, regulation, and policy in Xinjiang that denies Uighurs religious freedom, and by extension freedom of association, assembly, and expression. The report also shows how China is using the events of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent "war on terror" as a cover for targeting Uighurs.

This HRIC whitepaper analyzes the counterterrorism policies and practices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional group comprising six states with deeply troubling human rights records: China, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It argues that these policies and practices undermine the effectiveness and integrity of the international counterterrorism framework, and enable SCO member states to target their own populations through repressive measures that compromise internationally recognized human rights.