Bachelet wants Xinjiang trip amid reports of torture in Uighur | Human Rights Issues

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says he is working hard to ‘make a difference’ in the region this year.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet has said he hopes to accept a visit to China this year, including his Xinjiang region, to see reports of serious violations of the Uighur minority.

“I am continuing to discuss China’s options for a visit, including the opportunity to visit the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” Bachelet said in a statement at the opening of the Human Rights Council’s meeting in Geneva.

“[I] we hope this can happen this year, especially as the report on human rights abuses continues. ”

Bachelet’s speech was the first to inform the public about the long-awaited arrival, which his office has been discussing since September 2018.

He is under intense pressure from Western nations to make a move to Xinjiang, home to millions of Uighurs, a large Islamic nation, housed in concentration camps in the region, according to the UN.

Mass training camps

Opponents, including the UK and US, say prisoners in the camps have been abused human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, coercion, torture, forced detention and family separation.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch released the report this year writing anti-Uighur practices which he said could be civil cases.

Beijing has denied the allegations and described the camps as a training ground for anti-religious and anti-development activities in the region.

Many countries, led by Canada, are expected to submit a single report to the council on Tuesday, stating the impact of what is happening in Xinjiang and demanding that China provide Bachelet and other independent observers.

In anticipation of Tuesday’s report, Chinese missions in Geneva last week criticized the group for its efforts to “spread fraud and lies to create China” and use “human rights as a political weapon”.

Hong Kong

Meanwhile, with the situation in Hong Kong, Bachelet told the council that China’s national security policy, which was passed last year, had “gained momentum” in democracies and in the media in the former British colony.

The law prosecuted many dissidents, gave China power in some cases and gave authorities new powers to investigate.

Bachelet said 107 people had been arrested under the law, including 57 accused.

“This will be an important test of the right to a fair hearing in Hong Kong courts on their willingness to comply with Hong Kong’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in accordance with the Constitution,” he said.

Officials in Beijing and Hong Kong say a national security law is needed to prevent national security threats, and that the rights and freedoms of ordinary people in Hong Kong are being protected.

But critics say it is being used to end global economic inequality.