EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell welcomed a UN report today on what it said was a rigorous review of evidence suggesting systemic abuse of Muslim minorities in China. The report released by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that Uyghurs in the Chinese province of Xinjiang and other predominantly Muslim groups were routinely placed in reeducation camps where they were subjected to torture, rape, forced labour and abortion. He quoted the 48-page report as saying that the suspected abuse of Muslim minorities in China might amount to crimes against humanity. A group of 60 Uyghur organizations from 20 countries are calling for an immediate response to put an end to atrocities against Uyghurs, following the release of a report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). A groundbreaking United Nations report published on August 31 says the Chinese government has committed abuses that may amount to crimes against humanity targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic communities in the Xinjiang region.
In the United States, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said yesterday that a long-awaited UN report on Human Rights Violations in China’s Xinjiang province reaffirmed Washington’s view that Beijing is committing genocide against the Uyghurs. Mr. Blinken said that the United States welcomes the important report. He said, this report deepens and reaffirms US grave concern regarding the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity that Chinese Government authorities are perpetrating against Uyghurs.
The UN report detailed a string of rights violations including torture and forced labor against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities, infuriating Beijing. The assessment from the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Office largely corroborated earlier reporting by researchers, advocacy groups and the news media. Human Rights Groups have accused China of sweeping a million or more people from the minority groups into detention camps.
