In addition to focusing on Russia’s war in Ukraine, the 49th session of the Human Rights Council began with severe concerns raised about China’s human rights problems. High-level officials from France, New Zealand, and the United States have encouraged UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to disclose her Office’s report on the Uyghur area of Xinjiang. They were joined in their appeal for the UN to have unrestricted access to the nation by the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Denmark.
Seven delegations — Finland, Czechia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Luxembourg, and Iceland – voiced further concerns over rampant breaches in Tibet and Hong Kong, as well as the countrywide onslaught on civil society. North Korea, Sri Lanka, Laos, Armenia, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, the Maldives, South Sudan, Lesotho, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic, on the other hand, have commended China’s human rights condition.
In her report to the Human Rights Council on secret detention in the context of countering terrorism, UN Special Rapporteur Fionnuala Ní Aoláin underscored the ‘pressing need for independent human rights assessment and accountability for violations of international law’ in the context of mass arbitrary and secret detention in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
China, along with Saudi Arabia, is the nation most frequently cited in the UN Secretary-annual General’s report on “reprisals” against persons and organizations collaborating or attempting to cooperate with the UN. China was one of 11 nations named in the 2020 report for participating in ‘patterns of reprisals.’ It was also named as one of five nations where serious concerns with the incarceration of victims of reprisals and intimidation were documented and reported in September 2021 by the Assistant-Secretary General and focal point on reprisals, Ilze Brands Kehris.
The Chinese government has repeatedly said that it will only accept a “friendly visit” by the High Commissioner aimed at “boosting exchanges and cooperation,” rather than a so-called investigation with a presumption of guilt.
ISHR urges UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to:
- Release the OHCHR report on significant breaches in Xinjiang, the Uyghur region, as soon as possible, and advise the Human Rights Council on its contents;
- Disclose the terms of unrestricted access to the nation that have been agreed upon with Chinese officials to date;
- Include appropriate Special Procedures mandate holders, such as the Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, in her tour team.
- Ensure that a set of minimal conditions for independent, unhindered access are met, as well as publicly reporting on and interrupting her visit if the Chinese authorities violate the agreement.