UN Human Rights Chief Bachelet will Travel to Xinjiang in May
GHRTV
10-03-2022
Michela Rivellino
China and Human Rights Researcher
Global Human Rights Defence
Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, will travel to China in May. The trip will include a visit to the Xinjiang region, where approximately 1 million Uyghurs are deemed to be detained in concentration camps.
Since 2018, Bachelet has struggled to visit the region following the concerns regarding potential human rights violations against the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. However, the Chinese government had repeatedly denied such charges, preventing Bachelet from visiting Xinjiang. Finally, Beijing and the UN High Commissioner agreed upon a “friendly” visit in late January. Even though it is not clear yet what arrangements have been made about Bachelet’s sojourn, there is concern about whether Beijing will allow her to make a meaningful and “credible” visit to the region.
Numerous human rights groups and members of the civil society have expressed deep concern over the treatment of men and women within Xinjiang camps, where several forms of torture, rapes, forced labor and sterilizations have been revealed. Even though Beijing keeps concealing its actions, several countries have already accused China of committing genocide, and a United Kingdom independent people’s tribunal maintained that China has been pursuing a systematic policy of extermination of the Uyghurs.
Sources and further reading:
NU.nl. (2022, March 8). “UN human rights chief visits Chinese region where Uyghurs are in camps”. NU.nl. Retrieved March 9, 2022, from
DW Made for minds. (2022, March 8). “UN commissioner to travel to Xinjiang on long-delayed China visit”. DW Made for minds. From
https://www.dw.com/en/un-commissioner-to-travel-to-xinjiang-on-long-delayed-china-visit/a-61057011.
