China guilty of rights abuses: UN
GENEVA: China’s ‘‘arbitrary and discriminatory detention’’ of Uyghurs and other Muslims in its Xinjiang region may constitute crimes against humanity, the outgoing UN human rights chief said in a longawaited report yesterday.
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 fouryear term ended. She visited China in May.
The UN Human Rights Office said in its 48page report that ‘‘serious human rights violations have been committed’’ in Xinjiang ‘‘in the context of the government’s application of counterterrorism and counter‘extremism’ strategies’’.
‘‘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 office said.
She recommended the Chinese government take prompt steps to release all those detained in training centres, prisons or detention facilities.
‘‘There are credible indications of violations of reproductive rights through the coercive enforcement of family planning policies since 2017,’’ the office said.
It added ta lack of government data ‘‘makes it difficult to draw conclusions on the full extent of current enforcement of these policies and associated violations of reproductive rights’’.
Rights groups accuse Beijing of abuses against Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority that numbers around 10 million in the western region of Xinjiang, including the mass use of forced labour in internment camps. The US has accused China of genocide.
China has vigorously denied the allegations.
Its mission in Geneva described the report as a ‘‘farce’’ planned by the US, Western nations and antiChina forces based on false information and the assumption of guilt.
Speaking ahead of the report’s release, China’s ambassador to the UN in New York, Zhang Jun, said Beijing had repeatedly voiced opposition to it. He said the UN human rights chief should not interfere in China’s internal affairs.
‘‘We all know, so well, that the socalled Xinjiang issue is a completely fabricated lie out of political motivations and its purpose definitely is to undermine China’s stability and to obstruct
China’s development,’’ Zhang told reporters yesterday.
Dilxat Raxit of the World Uyghur Congress, a group based abroad, said the report confirmed ‘‘solid evidence of atrocities’’ against Uyghurs, but wished it had gone further.
‘‘I regret that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights did not characterise these extreme atrocities in China as genocide,’’ he said.
Reuters reported last month that China had asked Bachelet to bury the report, according to a Chinese letter that was confirmed by diplomats.
Bachelet confirmed last week she received the letter, which she said was signed by about 40 other states, adding her office would not respond to such pressure.
Bachelet (70) plans to return to Chile to retire. Many candidates have applied for the job but no successor has been named..
‘‘Frankly to issue the report as she’s walking out the door minimises the report,’’ Kenneth Roth at Human Rights Watch said.
‘‘By issuing and running she is giving up, she’s not doing anything with it, [she is] just kind of dropping it into the bin and leaving the office.’’
Still, the organisation described the report as groundbreaking.
‘‘Victims and their families whom the Chinese government has long vilified have at long last seen their persecution recognised, and can now look to the UN and its member states for action to hold those responsible accountable,’’ its global advocacy deputy director, John Fisher, said.
Speaking within hours of its release, New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta welcomed its publication.
‘‘The report confirms that there are incidents of forced labour and other areas of concern that confirm human rights violations have occurred,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s hard to refute a report of that repute from a UN organisation.
‘‘It requires some action to be taken by China to recognise that human rights violations have existed.’’
National foreign affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee took a different tack, saying China was trying to curb terrorism, like any government. — Reuters/additional reporting AAP
ZAPORIZHZHIA: UN nuclear experts are due to visit the Russianoccupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine’s south today to assess any damage from shelling that has prompted bitter recriminations and global fears of a radiation disaster.
Conditions at the nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, have been unravelling for weeks, with Moscow and Kyiv trading blame for shelling in the vicinity. A recent satellite image from private US company Maxar Technologies showed several blackened holes in the roof of a building beside reactors at the plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission arrived in the city of Zaporizhzhia, 55km from the plant, yesterday, and Ukraine’s defence ministry said it was scheduled to visit the facility today.
‘‘It’s a mission that seeks to prevent a nuclear accident,’’ IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told