The UN Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet announced this Tuesday (8) that she has reached an agreement with China for a visit, “scheduled” in May, and said that she had already raised with Beijing cases of arrest and detention of activists. .
His visit would include a stop in the remote western region of Xinjiang, where activists say about 1 million Uighurs [minoria étnica muçulmana que habita o país] were held in mass detention, she told the Human Rights Council. China rejects allegations of abuse, describing the camps as vocational centers designed to fight extremism, and in late 2019 said all people in the camps had “graduated”.
Bachelet, speaking via video message on the Geneva forum, made no reference to her long-awaited report on alleged abuses against the Uighurs. His office began collecting evidence about 3.5 years ago, and in December, his spokesman promised his release in a few weeks.
Referring to China, Bachelet expressed concern about the treatment of people who speak out on human rights issues that are considered critical of Chinese government policies. Some faced house arrest or prison terms based on criminal charges stemming from their activities, Bachelet said.
“My office has raised several such cases with the government and encourages the authorities to take steps to ensure that freedom of expression and opinion is fully respected and protected,” Bachelet added, without elaborating.
An advance team from her office was due to leave in April to prepare for her visit — the first by a UN high commissioner for human rights since Louise Arbor went to China in 2005.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Faruk Kaymakci were among the council’s speakers last week who expressed concern over the treatment of the Uighurs in Xinjiang.
“In China, the government continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang against predominantly Muslim Uighurs and other minority groups, and we urge the High Commissioner to release without delay her report on the situation there,” Blinken said at the time:
A Western diplomat in Geneva told Reuters before Bachelet’s speech: “We very much hope that Michelle Bachelet will go to the freezer in her office and remove this report…” It is past time for Michelle Bachelet to provide this report, we all know what is happening in Xinjiang. We understand that the report is written,” he said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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