Press Release – For Immediate Release
8 March 2022
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
0049 (0) 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

UN: Groups Urge Rights Chief to Report on Chinese Government Abuses
High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet Should Release Uyghur Inquiry as Promised

(Geneva, March 8, 2022) – The World Uyghur Congress joins almost 200 human rights groups in an open letter urging the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to swiftly release her office’s report on Chinese government rights violations targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic people. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet first indicated her intent to report on Chinese government abuses across East Turkistan in 2018. Since that time, she has offered procedural updates on the status of negotiations to gain meaningful access to the region. In September 2021, Bachelet confirmed that her office was “finalising its assessment of the available information on allegations of serious human rights violations in [East Turkistan] with a view to making it public.” In December, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the report would be released in a matter of weeks.

Today’s announcement of a planned visit to East Turkistan by the High Commissioner should not provide an excuse for her to avoid publishing her report on the egregious crimes in East Turkistan without further delay, as she has repeatedly promised, the groups said. It defies credibility to believe that China will allow meaningful unfettered access that will enable human rights defenders, or victims and their families, to speak to the High Commissioner safely, unsupervised and without fear of reprisal. 

In reaction to the announcement, WUC President said: ”The visit is a very unexpected announcement, given that the High Commissioner hasn’t said anything substantial on the upcoming report. This visit is crucial, but it can only be useful if her office receives unfettered access.”

In recent years, nongovernmental organizations have published information detailing the arbitrary detention of approximately three million Uyghurs and others, the Orwellian criminalization of lawful behaviour tracked through surveillance technology, and the commission of apparent crimes against humanity, including torture, family separations, and cultural persecution.