UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Calls Out China for Human Rights Violations in Xinjiang and Tibet

The UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Volmer Türk, has called upon China to implement its recommendations regarding the continuing human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet.

GHRTV

Mar 19, 2024 - 14:42

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UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Calls Out China for Human Rights Violations in Xinjiang and Tibet

Gate of Prayers in Tibet. © Daniele Salutari, August 25, 2017, via Unsplash

14-03-04

Dara Masita

Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

The UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Volmer Türk, has called upon China to implement their recommendations and amend laws and policies in line with fundamental human rights, especially in Xinjiang and Tibet regions.

The long-standing cultural repression and fundamental rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet are already familiar to the international community. The Uyghurs are abused and rounded up in camps. At the same time, the Tibetans face cultural repression and oppressive conditions.

Türk urged the Chinese government to implement the recommendations from human rights bodies. These recommendations include repealing the National Security Law, revising the Criminal Law (particularly Article 293 regarding “picking quarrels and making trouble”), releasing human rights defenders, and further collaborating with UN agencies.

Nonetheless, China is reluctant to work together with the international community regarding this matter calling them baseless allegations. Chinese Ambassador Chen Xu has shown his dissent to other countries for using human rights as a pretext to interfere in Chinese internal affairs and to stop, “imposing one’s own values and development model on others.”

This tension between human rights bodies and China has been a recurring subject in international relations. As the world watches, the challenge lies in finding common ground to ensure the protection of fundamental rights while respecting sovereignty, ultimately striving towards a future where all individuals are afforded dignity and freedom.

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