WEB DESK
A group of more than 40 UN independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council with a mandate to monitor and report on various human rights concerns worldwide said on Wednesday that China must address grave human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), and the international community must not turn a blind eye. Their statement follows the recent publication of a long-awaited report by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, which found that “serious human rights violations” had been committed against the Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim communities there. China has dismissed the UN report on human rights violations in Xinjiang and termed it “illegal for being pushed by US agenda” and an attempt to smear China which was issued by UN High Commissioner for Human rights, Michelle Bachelete on the last day of her tenure.
In supporting the assessment, the experts highlighted the conclusion, which stated that “the extent of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities … may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity”. They drew attention to the report’s findings of credible allegations of patterns of torture or ill-treatment. These included forced medical treatment and adverse detention conditions, as well as incidents of sexual and gender-based violence such as invasive gynecological exams, and indications of coercive enforcement of family planning and birth control policies. They also welcomed the attention given to widespread misuse of counter-terrorism and counter-extremism laws, policies and practice.
The experts were particularly concerned that both UN human rights mechanisms, in tandem with the report, demonstrated that China’s policies and practices have limited the legitimate exercise of numerous human rights. Among them is the right of religious and ethnic minorities to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language. The experts said they “support all the recommendations made by the UN Human Rights Office,” while also offering support to facilitate their implementation.” They called on the Chinese Government to invite UN human rights mandate holders to the country, and affirmed their availability to undertake visits, as well as to provide technical assistance and support to the authorities. The experts also repeated their call for the UN Human Rights Council to convene a special session on China, initially made in a June 2020 statement.