London [UK], December 17 (ANI): More than half a million people worldwide have endorsed a petition urging the Group of Seven and other nations to take action against the Chinese Communist government's practice of extracting organs from prisoners of conscience, as reported by The Epoch Times (TET).

The petition, initiated by Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) and the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China in July 2024, has collected 505,970 signatures across 34 countries as of December 15.

The initiative aims to prompt the governments of the Group of Seven countries, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK, as well as Argentina, Australia, India, Israel, Mexico, South Korea and Taiwan, to take a stand against the Chinese regime's forced organ harvesting crimes.

These violations predominantly affect prisoners of conscience, including detained Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities.

In the weeks leading up to the announcement, hundreds of lawmakers worldwide committed to promoting legislation to prohibit forced organ harvesting.

DAFOH said the petition campaign would continue, with organisers now aiming for one million signatures by June 2026.

'We present the issue of forced organ harvesting directly to sovereign governments to inform them about the public's demand to end such dreadful transplant abuses in our civilised world, while also addressing it to the executive branch, the decision-makers within those governments,' said DAFOH Executive Director Dr Torsten Trey, as cited by The Epoch Times.

'To witness this international support is encouraging. Not only do we raise awareness about China's 25 years of persecution against Falun Gong, but we also create a platform for individuals to actively participate in ending it, one signature at a time.'

The petition highlights findings from the London-based China Tribunal, which concluded in 2019 that the Chinese regime has been involved in large-scale forced organ harvesting, predominantly targeting Falun Gong practitioners, according to TET.

Trey noted that his organisation had previously conducted a petition campaign on the issue directed at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2012 to 2018, which attracted more than three million participants.

However, he said the campaign encountered 'a complex network of rules and regulations,' and the United Nations ultimately did not take any verifiable action.

It took three months to establish the current petition campaign, Trey said, adding that it would continue regardless of leadership changes in the countries concerned.

Given the rapid pace of signature collection, he expressed confidence that the campaign could garner support from millions, according to the TET report.

'Every freedom-loving individual and every person of faith desires to see this horrific and gruesome persecution, along with the forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners, come to an end,' Trey said.

The petition calls on leaders of the 14 countries to issue a united statement condemning the Chinese regime's forced organ harvesting, demanding its immediate cessation, and to implement a coordinated action plan.

According to the petition, the strategy should include establishing measures to protect citizens from receiving transplants in China, halting transplant-related partnerships, holding annual parliamentary hearings on the issue, and initiating investigations to pursue accountability, as outlined in the TET report. (ANI)