New York: Two international medical ethics groups have initiated a petition urging the G7 and other countries to address the Chinese Communist Party's alleged crimes of forced organ harvesting from living prisoners of conscience, particularly Falun Gong practitioners, according to a report by NTD citing the Epoch Times.

The petition, launched by Washington-based Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) and the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC), aims to break through the "great wall of silence" surrounding the issue, according to a statement from the groups.

Forced organ harvesting (FOH) is described as a form of organ trafficking perpetrated by the Chinese state against living, innocent people imprisoned for their faith or ethnicity, to supply its expanding organ transplant industry. The petition calls upon the G7 governments, along with Argentina, Australia, India, Israel, Mexico, South Korea, and Taiwan, to issue a joint declaration condemning China’s practice of FOH, demand its immediate cessation, and implement an intergovernmental action plan.

From its inception, the petition has received support from over 20 human rights organizations. "This petition is not only a wake-up call for the leaders of the G7 states, but it is also an opportunity for people around the globe to take a meaningful stance against this unprecedented human rights violation," the statement read.

DAFOH's Executive Director Torsten Trey highlighted the urgency of the matter, stating, “After more than two decades of killing Falun Gong practitioners for organs, we must take a stand and declare that no human being should be killed for their organs, and no country, including China, should be allowed to commit such a crime against humanity.”

ETAC’s International Advisory Board Chair, Wendy Rogers, emphasized the global responsibility to address these crimes, adding, “Innocent prisoners of conscience are being killed for their organs. The G7 must show leadership on this issue and act decisively.”

Evidence gathered over the past 18 years suggests that forced organ harvesting in China is a significant concern. In 2020, the China Tribunal, chaired by human rights barrister Sir Geoffrey Nice KC, concluded that China had been forcibly harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience for many years, primarily targeting Falun Gong practitioners. The tribunal's findings classified these acts as crimes against humanity.

In 2021, a group of 12 United Nations Special Rapporteurs and human rights experts sent a formal communication to the Chinese government, responding to credible information that Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Christians were being killed for their organs.

Medical associations such as the British Medical Association and the Canadian Medical Association have also acknowledged the issue. In 2023, they supported a legal advisory and policy guidance by Global Rights Compliance (GRC), highlighting the complicity risks of engaging with countries where organ trafficking is prevalent, naming China as a high-risk country.

The Texas-based International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) has banned Chinese transplant surgeons from its conferences and publications, while the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) recognized overwhelming evidence of forced organ harvesting in China in an official statement last year.

The petition from DAFOH and ETAC labels Beijing’s practice of forced organ harvesting as a “cold genocide” against Falun Gong, accusing the Chinese regime of using forced organ harvesting to covertly eliminate the group while profiting from organ sales.

The groups argue that inadequate international action has allowed these crimes to continue and expand to other groups, such as the Uyghur population. They call for a decisive international response to halt these practices.

Falun Gong, a modern qigong discipline combining slow-moving exercises and meditation with a moral philosophy, has been persecuted in China for the past 25 years. Adherents have faced imprisonment, torture, forced labor, and forced organ harvesting by Chinese authorities.

According to Freedom United, an anti-slavery organization, minorities in China, including political prisoners, ethnic Uyghurs, and Falun Gong practitioners, are victims of forced organ harvesting. An international tribunal in London found that some of China’s 1.5 million detainees in prison camps have been killed for the state-sanctioned organ transplant trade, estimated to be worth over $1 billion.

Despite clear evidence, organ transplant tourism continues, with research indicating that 28 percent of organ transplants in China are conducted on foreigners, highlighting the ongoing challenge of tracking and verifying the sources of organs in the country.