UN RIGHTS CHIEF COULD FACE RESTRICTIONS IN CHINA, U.S. CONCERNED

Sat 21 May 2022:

The US is “deeply concerned” about UN human rights leader Michelle Bachelet’s impending visit to China, according to the State Department, based on its understanding of the restrictions she would face there.

UN RIGHTS CHIEF VISITS CHINA BEGINNING ON MONDAY, INCLUDING XINJIANG

Department spokesman Ned Price during a press briefing called for Bachelet to release a U.N. report on conditions in China’s Xinjiang region, where the United States says China’s government is committing genocide against Uyghur Muslims. Bachelet’s visit, initially planned for May, will be the first by a U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights since 2005, and includes a planned trip to Xinjiang where activists say some 1 million Uyghurs have been held in mass detention.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights “begins a six-day official mission to China on Monday, at the invitation of the government,” according to a statement released by her office on Friday.

“The high commissioner will also meet with civil society organisations, business representatives, academics, and deliver a lecture to students at Guangzhou University,” the statement added.

Bachelet is not going to Beijing because of Covid restrictions, according to her office. She will not need to quarantine.

She will, however, visit Kashgar and Urumqi in Xinjiang, according to the report.

She will end the mission on May 28 with a press conference and a statement at an undisclosed location.

Rights groups, diplomats, and others have expressed fear that Beijing will use her visit to manipulate her, and have increased calls for the report’s release.

However, a spokesperson for Bachelet indicated Tuesday that it would not be made public until after her travel, and that there was no clear timeline for doing so.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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