For the past three years, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has been negotiating with China about a visit to the Xinjiang region. Now China has apparently agreed.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has wanted to travel to Xinjiang since 2018 to see the situation for herself.
China has granted UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet access to its western Xinjiang region. this reported the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Thursday with reference to anonymous sources. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the invitation on Friday. However, it had been pronounced for a long time, said a spokesman. Both sides are in exchange about the project.
A spokesman for Bachelets also confirmed the report to the Reuters news agency on Friday. Bachelet is in talks with China about a possible visit after the February Olympics but still in the first half of 2022. However, this must be meaningful, with uncontrolled, unimpeded and comprehensive access to the Xinjiang region. This means that the UN must be able to speak to a broad spectrum of local civil society actors as well as to high-ranking government representatives.
But the negotiations are likely to remain tough. China wants to prevent an independent investigation of the kind the UN is calling for. This is shown by the conditions that China is said to have placed on Bachelet, according to the SCMP report. Bachelet’s visit is said to be of a “friendly” nature and not to be considered an investigation. Only a precisely orchestrated trip, such as that experienced by the World Health Organization team in Wuhan a year ago, would probably be an option for China. In addition, China is said to have urged the UN Human Rights Council to suspend the publication of a report on Xinjiang, writes the SCMP.
The UN Human Rights Council has made an assessment of the human rights situation in Xinjiang based on testimonies, leaked documents and other sources. According to a UN spokesman, the report was finalized in September last year. In December, a spokesman said publication was imminent. Human rights organizations are pushing for publication before the start of the Winter Olympics. This would draw attention to the human rights situation in the host country of the major event. “Publish the report, Michelle Bachelet,” tweeted Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch.
Regarding the accusation that China is tying Bachelet’s visit to the condition that the publication of the report be postponed, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday that it was opposed to the Xinjiang issue being used to attack and slander China. Xinjiang enjoys stability, prosperity and development.
Since 2018, the UN has been trying to gain access to Xinjiang to get an accurate picture of the situation of the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities on the ground. China has so far opposed the request.
Collaboration: Matthias Kamp, Fabian Kretschmer, Beijing.