US slams China's efforts to restrict and manipulate UN rights chief visit to Xinjiang
Follow UsStory highlights
Urging Beijing to review its counter-terrorism policies to ensure they comply with international human rights standards, Bachelet sided with the dragon and reiterated that her six-day visit to Xinjiang was not an investigation into China's human rights policies but an opportunity to engage with the government
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has slammed China's efforts to restrict and manipulate UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet's visit to Xinjiang.
Expressing concerns about a lack of independent assessment of the human rights environment in China, Blinken said he was ''troubled by reports that residents of Xinjiang were warned not to complain or speak openly about conditions in the region, (and) that no insight was provided into the whereabouts of hundreds of missing Uyghurs and conditions for over a million individuals in detention.''
"The High Commissioner should have been allowed confidential meetings with family members of Uyghur and other ethnic minority diaspora communities in Xinjiang who are not in detention facilities but are forbidden from travelling out of the region," he added.
Calling it "a mistake to agree to a visit under the circumstances", State Department spokesman Ned Price said that China will use her trip as an endorsement of its rights record.
Bachelet's high profile and rare visit to Xinjiang was criticised by rights groups and Western countries as they believe it lacked transparency.
Urging Beijing to review its counter-terrorism policies to ensure they comply with international human rights standards, Bachelet sided with the dragon and reiterated that her six-day visit to Xinjiang was not an investigation into China's human rights policies but an opportunity to engage with the government.
UN High Commissioner Bachelet's visit to China's Xinjiang region provided an opportunity to observe and experience first-hand the real Xinjiang, Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu briefs the media on Sat. pic.twitter.com/4yG0mR8FjE
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) May 28, 2022
During an online press briefing, she said "I have raised questions and concerns about the application of counter-terrorism and deradicalisation measures under broad application, particularly the impact on the rights of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities."
As warned by Washington earlier, Bachelet's access was limited as China arranged for her to travel in a "closed loop". With no foreign press present, China said it isolated people within a virtual bubble to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
(With inputs from agencies)
WATCH WION LIVE HERE
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.
)