[In a letter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, the states told China to uphold its own laws and international obligations, and stop arbitrary incarceration of Uighurs and other Muslim and minority communities, and permit freedom of religion. The letter was delivered Monday and publicly seen on Wednesday.]
By Nick Cumming-Bruce
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The gate of what is
officially known as a vocational skills education center
in Xinjiang, in western
China. Credit Thomas Peter/Reuters
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GENEVA — A group of 22 countries have issued
a statement urging China to stop the mass detention of ethnic Uighurs and other
Muslims in its western Xinjiang region, the first concerted international
challenge to a policy China has vigorously defended at the United Nations.
In a letter to the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, the states told China to
uphold its own laws and international obligations, and stop arbitrary
incarceration of Uighurs and other Muslim and minority communities, and permit
freedom of religion. The letter was delivered Monday and publicly seen on
Wednesday.
Britain, France and Germany were among 18
European countries that, joined by Japan, Australia, Canada and New Zealand,
drew attention to reports of large-scale arbitrary detentions and asked Ms.
Bachelet to keep the Human Rights Council regularly updated on developments.
China experts, drawing on official Chinese
documents, satellite imagery and the testimony of families whose relatives have
been detained, estimate that China has detained a million or more people in
re-education centers and has imposed intrusive surveillance.
China denied such actions when a United Nations
human rights committee questioned the policy last year but later said it was
providing vocational training to insulate Xinjiang’s population from what it
described as the global scourge of extremism.
To counter international critics, last month
China brought Xinjiang’s deputy governor, an ethnic Uighur, to the council,
where he asserted that such training is lifting Xinjiang’s people from poverty.
The deputy governor, Aierken Tuniyazi, also rejected accusations that the
trainees are in detention camps.
“The trainees’ personal dignity and freedom
are fully protected,” he said, describing students living in air-conditioned
dormitories and dividing their time between learning valuable skills and
participating in ethnic dancing, singing or sports.
The United States has led criticism of
China’s treatment of Uighurs and led a joint statement condemning China’s
treatment of lawyers and human rights activists in the Human Rights Council in
2016. But the United States withdrew from the council a year ago and did not
sign the letter.
Diplomats said there was little prospect of
another country leading a resolution in the council and exposing itself to the
political and economic retaliation China often threatens against states that
criticize it, especially in prominent forums.
The joint letter, on the contrary, had no
obvious coordinator or sponsor, making it difficult for China to single out a
particular signer for retribution. Diplomats said the letter provided a less
risky but nonetheless effective way for states to express indignation over
China’s measures in Xinjiang.
There was no immediate comment from China on
the letter, but diplomats said China’s envoys in Geneva were preparing a
counter-letter. Human rights activists welcomed it.
“The joint statement demonstrates that
Beijing is wrong to think it can escape international scrutiny for its abuses
in Xinjiang, and the pressure will only increase until these appalling abuses
end,” John Fisher, director of Human Rights Watch’s Geneva office, said in a
statement.
“Governments are increasingly recognizing the
suffering of millions of people in Xinjiang, with families torn apart and
living in fear, and a Chinese state that believes it can commit mass violations
uncontested,” he said.
The letter also called on China to allow
“meaningful access” to Xinjiang for Ms. Bachelet and other independent
international observers. Chinese diplomats in Geneva have expressed the wish to
have the high commissioner visit Xinjiang but in their discussions with Ms.
Bachelet’s office have yet to agree on the terms.
