C. whereas, on 8 May 2009, the Union called for commutation of the death sentences handed down by Lhasa Intermediate People's Court to several Tibetans following the Lhasa riots in March 2008, D. whereas, during the first days of July 2009, the worst ethnic violence in decades broke out in XUAR after Uighur demonstrators took to the streets and attacked Han Chinese in Urumqi, causing casualties among them, in protest against attacks on Uighur workers at a factory in South China in June 2009; whereas, according to official figures, 197 people died and more than 1600 people were wounded, E. whereas, in order to ensure that Tibetans and Uighurs, China's two major ethnic minorities, can coexist peacefully with the great majority of the Chinese population, who are of Han ethnicity, it is essential to begin a frank, ongoing and mutually respectful dialogue, F. whereas there is growing dissatisfaction and resentment among the Uighur population – which is largely Muslim, shares linguistic and cultural bonds with Central Asia and accounts for almost half of Xinjiang's 20 million people – directed at the mainly Han Chinese authorities, the latter being accused of closely watching and containing religious activities in a context of employment discrimination and marginalisation of their own ethnic group in the region; whereas the call by human rights NGOs for the international community to send an independent investigative team to the site of the riots received no response, G. whereas the People’s Republic of China has expressed a desire for harmonious ethnic relations in XUAR, H. whereas the legitimacy of the sentences passed on the Tibetans condemned for crimes during the March 2008 riots has been called into question in a report by Human Rights Watch, which states that some trial proceedings took place covertly on undisclosed dates and that the Tibetans were denied access to a meaningful defence with lawyers of their choosing, I. whereas religious observance in China is subject to restrictions and is closely controlled by the State, J. whereas the death penalty is applicable in the case of 68 offences in China, including nonviolent offences such as tax fraud and drugs offences, 1. Reiterates its long-standing opposition to the death penalty in all cases and under all circumstances; recalls the EU's strong commitment to working towards abolition of the death penalty everywhere and emphasises once again that abolition of the death penalty contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and the progressive development of human rights; 2. Recognises the positive move by the Supreme People's Court, in January 2007, to review death sentences but deplores the fact that it has not led to a significant decrease in the number of executions in China; remains concerned that China still carries out the greatest number of executions worldwide; 3. Urges the Chinese Government, therefore, to adopt a moratorium on the death penalty immediately and unconditionally, this being seen as a crucial step towards abolition of the