China may have committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, UN says
- Descriptions of detentions in region’s vocational education and training centres between 2017 and 2019 ‘marked by patterns of torture’
- After controversial delay, findings and recommendations issued minutes before Michelle Bachelet’s term as human rights chief ended
It linked Beijing’s employment policies to forced labour, found evidence of torture in detention camps that the Chinese government describes as vocational training centres, and pointed to “unusual” and “coercive” government actions that led to a starkly plunging birth rate in the Western region.
In short, the report dramatically shed light on a range of abuses that have been flagged by Uygurs and other minorities who had fled China.
It recommended “urgent action” by the Chinese government, the UN and the “international community more broadly” to address the human rights situation in Xinjiang, where Beijing is accused of operating a repressive system in which more than 1 million Uygurs and other ethnic Muslims are detained.
Addressing accusations of widespread forced labour in the region, the UN’s human rights body found indications that actions the Chinese government described as vocational training “appear to be discriminatory in nature or effect”.