United Nations Slams China on Rights Abuse in Xinjiang

Despite Beijing’s objections, The UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, delivered a report on CCP’s human rights abuse in Xinjiang toward the region’s Muslim minority.

On Wednesday, just hours before the end of her four-year tenure and after months of repeated delays, Bachelet announced that “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 assessment found “patterns of torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” as part of a campaign that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has defended to fight extremism.

Earlier, Beijing urged the UN not to release the report and said the report is nothing but a fabricated lie arranged by Western powers. Soon after the report’s release, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told the media the “so-called suggestions were pieced together based on disinformation to serve political objectives.”

The Communist Party always denies any wrongdoing. However, the UN investigation found credible evidence of torture possibly amounting to crimes against humanity. The crimes include sweeping more than a million people from minority groups into ‘re-education camps’ where they were tortured, sexually assaulted, and forcefully sterilized. The detainees were under constant hunger and surveillance. They were forced to memorize ‘red songs’ and other propaganda of the CCP. They were also asked to abandon their language and religion under Beijing’s anti-terrorism and anti-extremism policies.