Report by UNHRC highlights severe concerns about Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Tibet Autonomous Region

Ravina Shamdasani the spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday highlighted the human rights abuses persistent in China, especially in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The statement by Shamdasani came after a UN Human Rights team visited China in June this year. Additionally, the UN team had engaged in dialogue with the Chinese authorities, specifically addressing the counter-terrorism policies and the criminal justice system in the country.

The statement highlighted that the UN delegation during a dialogue with the Chinese authorities found out that in Xinjiang specifically, many problematic laws and policies remain in place which must be investigated and reviewed by the authorities from the human rights perspective. According to the same statement, the UN has also urged China and civil society members in the country to continue such interactions to seek tangible progress in the protection of human rights for all in China.

Additionally, the UN also expressed that it will be closely monitoring the current human rights situation in China even when difficulties are posed by limited access to information and the fear of reprisals against individuals who engage with the United Nations. The UN team during its visit to China also called on the Chinese authorities to take prompt steps to release all individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty and to clarify the status and whereabouts of those whose families have been seeking information about them.

The statement highlighted that the UN has always advocated for the implementation of the recommendations made by this UN team along with those made by other human rights mechanisms and during the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review process of China.

Previously, several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) had slammed China for rejecting recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at UNHRC’s 56th session intended to address the severe human rights issues of the country.

Reportedly, China had ignored calls to implement UN findings and dismissed all serious criticism of its human rights record, refusing to budge on the documented plight of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kongers, and human rights activists.

During the 26th meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) 56th session, held in Geneva on Thursday the Chinese diplomats refused to adopt several major recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) intended to address the severe human rights issues of the country. Responding to the dismissal of the UPR recommendations, in a joint statement on behalf of 29 NGOs delivered at the Human Rights Council after China’s remarks, the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) urged China to ‘genuinely engage with the UN to enact meaningful reforms’ in line with the recommendations from the UN’s Xinjiang report, UN Treaty Bodies and UN Special Rapporteurs.