Uyghur Muslims: UN report says China may have committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang

China’s detention of Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minority groups constitutes crimes against humanity, the UN has said.

The Chinese government has detained hundreds of thousands of ethnic minorities in the north-western province of Xinjiang since 2014, which it claims are being held under anti-terrorism and anti-extremism laws.

The groups, which are mainly Muslim Uyghurs, who speak their own language, similar to Turkish, and see themselves culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations, are being held in camps and detention centres.

The organisation’s human rights office released the long-awaited report on Wednesday (31 August) which concluded China ahs committed serious human rights violations, and called for “urgent attention” from the UN and rest of the world.

The report largely corroborates earlier reporting by researchers, advocacy groups and the news media, but steers away from estimates and other findings that cannot be definitively proven.

It was drawn in part from interviews with former detainees and others familiar with conditions at eight detention centres, and released Michelle Bachelet’s final day as UN high commissioner for human rights.

Her four years in post have been dominated by the accusations of abuse against the Uyghurs.

What did the report say? 

The report accused China of using vague national security laws to clamp down on the rights of minorities and establishing “systems of arbitrary detention”.

It made no mention of genocide, which some countries, including the US, have accused China of committing in Xinjiang.

It said that descriptions of the detentions were marked by patterns of torture and other cruel and inhumane treatments and added that allegations of rape and other sexual violence “appear credible”.

It said: “The extent of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim groups… in (the) context of restrictions and deprivation more generally of fundamental rights… may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity”.

The rights office said it could not confirm estimates that a million or more people were detained in internment camps in Xinjiang, but added it was “reasonable to conclude that a pattern of large-scale arbitrary detention occurred” at least between 2017 and 2019.

The UN assessment said that reports of sharp increases in arrests and lengthy prison sentences suggested a shift toward formal incarceration instead of the use of the camps.

Beijing has closed many of the camps, which it called vocational training and education centres, but hundreds of thousands of people continue to languish in prison, many on vague, secret charges.

The report recommended that China releases all individuals arbitrarily detained and clarify the whereabouts of those who have disappeared and whose families are seeking information.

What was said of the report? 

Japan was one of the first foreign governments to comment on the report. Its top government spokesperson urged China to improve transparency and human rights conditions in Xinjiang.

Chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said: “Japan is highly concerned about human rights conditions in Xinjiang, and we believe that it is important that universal values such as freedom, basic human rights and rule of law are also guaranteed in China”.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International called on the UN and governments to set up an independent investigation into human rights abuses.

“Never has it been so important for the UN system to stand up to Beijing, and to stand with victims,” said John Fisher, of Human Rights Watch.

The World Uyghur Congress welcomed the report and urged a swift international response.

Uyghur Human Rights Project executive director Omer Kanat said: “Despite the Chinese government’s strenuous denials, the UN has now officially recognised that horrific crimes are occurring”.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the UN report “shames China”.

Ms Truss, who is also the frontrunner to become the next prime minister, said: “The report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights provides new evidence of the appalling extent of China’s efforts to silence and repress Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang.

“It includes harrowing evidence, including first-hand accounts from victims, that shames China in the eyes of the international community, including actions that may amount to crimes against humanity.

She said the UK has already imposed sanctions on senior Chinese government officials and announced measures to prevent no new UK companies being “complicit in these violations” through supply chains.

The Foreign Secretary said the UK will “continue to act with international partners to bring about a change in China’s actions, and immediately end its appalling human rights violations in Xinjiang”.

What did China say of the report? 

China denounced the UN report, with Beijing’s diplomatic mission in Geneva saying it opposed its release and said the assessment ignores human rights achievements in Xinjiang and the damage caused by terrorism and extremism to the population.

In a statement, it said: “Based on the disinformation and lies fabricated by anti-China forces and out of presumption of guilt, the so-called ‘assessment’ distorts China’s laws, wantonly smears and slanders China, and interferes in China’s internal affairs”.

China had previously been lobbying to stop the report being published.