The independent tribunal, which is being held in London, has been set up to assess whether China's alleged human rights abuses against Uyghur people constitute genocide, reports Sky News.

It does not have the backing of the UK government and has no powers to sanction China, but organisers hope the evidence heard will compel the international community to take action, the news channel reported.

The first witness to give evidence on day one of the hearing was Qelbinur Sidik, a woman employed to teach Mandarin language classes at a men's camp in Xinjiang in 2016.

"Guards in the camp did not treat the prisoners as human beings. They were treated less than dogs," she was quoted as saying by Sky News through an interpreter.

Who are Uyghur Muslims?

Uyghur Muslims are a Turkic minority ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. It is now widely publicized that their human rights are crushed by China and they were sent to "re-education camps" by the communist regime in Beijing.

The Uyghurs are recognized as native to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.