UN: China may have committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang

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China’s “arbitrary and discriminatory detention” of Uyghurs and other Muslims in the country’s Xinjiang region may constitute crimes against humanity, the outgoing UN human rights chief said in a long-awaited report on Wednesday.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, who has faced criticism from some diplomats and rights groups for being too soft on China, released the report just minutes before her four-year term ended on Wednesday. She visited China in May.

The lengthy report said “serious human rights violations have been committed” in Xinjiang “in the context of the Government’s application of counter-terrorism and counter-‘extremism’ strategies,” reports Reuters.

“The extent of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim groups … may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity,” the UN report said.

She recommended the Chinese government to take prompt steps to release all those detained in training centres, prisons or detentions facilities.

“There are credible indications of violations of reproductive rights through the coercive enforcement of family planning policies since 2017,” the report said.