U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed concern over China’s “efforts to restrict and manipulate” the visit of the UN’s top human rights official to the Xinjiang region.
“The United States remains concerned about UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and her team’s visit to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the PRC’s efforts to restrict and manipulate his visit, “Blinken said in a statement on Saturday.
“We are concerned that the conditions imposed by the Beijing authorities on the visit did not allow for a full and independent assessment of the human rights environment in the PRC, including Xinjiang, where genocide and crimes against humanity are at stake. course “.
Earlier, Bachelet said he had urged the Chinese government to review its anti-terrorism policies in Xinjiang and called for information on the missing Uighurs at the end of a six-day visit to China.
She made the claim while addressing more than 120 journalists at the Zoom conference from Guangzhou, but was criticized by rights groups for giving few details or condemning China while easily giving unrelated statements on US issues.
A few hours after the press conference, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu told state media that Bachelet’s visit had “offered the opportunity to observe and experience first-hand the real Xinjiang.” .
UN High Commissioner Bachelet’s visit to China’s Xinjiang region provided an opportunity to observe and experience first-hand the real Xinjiang, the Deputy Foreign Minister told the media. Ma Zhaoxu. pic.twitter.com/4yG0mR8FjE
– Global Times (@globaltimesnews) May 28, 2022
Xinjiang has been the site of years of repression by Chinese authorities against Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, with radical policies of religious, cultural, linguistic and physical oppression.
Rights organizations and various governments have called the campaign genocide or crime against humanity. Beijing denies all allegations of ill-treatment and says its policies are against terrorism and religious extremism.
Bachelet had been seeking access to the region for several years, with stalled negotiations on Covid restrictions and the office’s demands for unrestricted access, and Beijing being friendly and not an investigation. The tour has faced widespread concern that it would be co-opted by the authorities as propaganda.
He began his remarks on Saturday by stressing that his visit was not an investigation.
“The official visits of a high commissioner by their nature are well known and do not favor … investigative work,” he said.
As for Xinjiang, Bachelet said he acknowledged the damage caused by “violent extremism”, but said it was essential that anti-terrorist responses “are not in themselves human rights violations”.
“I have raised questions and concerns about the implementation of anti-terrorism and de-radicalization measures, and their widespread application, especially their impact on the rights of Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities,” he said.
“Although I am not able to assess the full scale of vocational education and training centers, I have raised with the government the lack of independent judicial oversight of the operation of the program,” he said, using the term China for the network of detention facilities. by which it is estimated that a million Uighurs have passed.
He said the government had assured him that the VETC system had been dismantled and that he had encouraged them to review their policies to ensure that they fully complied with human rights standards.
In 2019, China announced that all “students” had “graduated” from the centers, but rights groups have said many were transferred to factories under alleged forced labor programs or to prisons.
Bachelet said during the “closed loop” tour that he was able to meet with senior officials, law enforcement, civil society and senior government officials such as the foreign minister and the president. , Xi Jinping.
He praised China’s achievements, such as the eradication of poverty 10 years before its goal, universal health care, employment protection and new laws aimed at improving the protection of human rights and interests. women and children.
Bachelet expressed concern over the criminalization of lawyers and human rights defenders, the “arbitrary detention” of the residential surveillance program and the “deeply worrying” repression in Hong Kong. He urged the protection of religious and cultural freedoms in Tibet.
The press conference lasted 45 minutes and Bachelet answered less than 10 questions. At least four were from Chinese state media, to which Bachelet gave detailed answers on human rights issues in the United States, although he seemed vague on many Xinjiang-related issues.
When asked about the freedom of Uighurs to speak freely in one of the most guarded regions of the world, Bachelet stressed that she and her team had met many people and civil society groups before the trip to China. .
“Of course, being part of a bubble [on the China trip] “We could meet some people and not everyone, but the people we could talk to were unsupervised,” he said.
Bachelet said a visit to a men’s prison in Kashgar was “quite open and transparent,” but it did not seem clear why the men were detained, and said they were detained “not necessarily linked to terrorism.” … but to other types of crime “.
Asked about allegations that some Uyghur families were locked in her home during her visit to prevent them from talking to her, Bachelet said she and her team were closely monitoring any cases of intimidation and had raised cases with authorities. individuals, including the missing family. members, but details could not be disclosed.
Bachelet’s press conference was criticized by some rights groups and activists.
Rayhan Asat, an Uighur activist and international human rights lawyer whose brother is imprisoned in Xinjiang, said: “This was his time to really tell the truth in power and I felt he fell so short.”
“It simply came to our notice then. The historical significance of this trip, which the UN could be the facilitator of committing to China, to change its behavior and mitigate human suffering. So I am very disappointed to hear your statement. It was too little condemnation and too much conciliatory commentary on China’s human rights record, “he said.
Sophie Richardson, China’s director of Human Rights Watch, said the tour and press conference was “exactly what the Chinese government would have wanted.”
“It simply came to our notice then. It included a ridiculous call for the Chinese government’s “multilateralism” … and last but not least, it did not provide information to the victims or survivors, “Richardson added.
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Bachelet’s visit coincided with the notification of a major leak within Xinjiang’s executive regime. The collection included photographs of thousands of people detained by the authorities, databases of crime arrests such as the study of the scriptures and the visit of overseas countries, and internal documents detailing policies to shoot to kill for attempts. escape and other enforcement measures.
The office had also faced pressure from human rights groups over a UN report on Xinjiang’s abuses, which was expected to end around the new year. In February, it was reported that China had asked the OACDH not to release it before the Beijing Winter Olympics.
“My visit was not an investigation into China’s human rights policies and practices, so it is not linked to the report,” Bachelet told a reporter.
Richardson asked Bachelet to publish the report.
“I look forward to reading this report tomorrow. If it is committed to ending impunity, if it is committed to helping governments achieve the highest human rights standards, it must release it now.”