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STATEMENT: WUC RENEWS ITS CALLS FOR THE UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS TO RELEASE HER REPORT INTO HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN EAST TURKISTAN

STATEMENT: WUC RENEWS ITS CALLS FOR THE UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS TO RELEASE HER REPORT INTO HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN EAST TURKISTAN

Press Release – For immediate release
25 August 2022
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
0049 (0) 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

This morning the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights held a press conference before her term comes to an end on August 31. Despite having committed to releasing her report into the human rights violations in East Turkistan before her term is up, the High Commissioner made no mention of the report or the atrocities it seeks to address. The High Commissioner also said today that she is “trying” to release the findings but has faced further delays due to the need to review input from the Chinese government. 

The Chinese government has carried out a large-scale campaign to bury this report, including using its economic power to lobby foreign nations to become complicit in its attempts to suppress the UN’s findings. This only increases the need for transparency and urgency – the credibility of the UN Office on Human Rights relies on the release of this report, in full, before the High Commissioner’s term ends.

“I am alarmed to see the High Commissioner discuss the end of her term without even one mention of the Uyghur situation or her long-awaited report,” said WUC President Dolkun Isa. “After the troubling press conference following Madame Bachelet’s trip to East Turkistan in May, the complete lack of transparency and repeated delays, the UN must restore the Uyghur community’s trust by releasing this report before the month’s end.”

The World Uyghur Congress is deeply concerned by the High Commissioner’s shift in language and omission of the Uyghur crisis from her press conference this morning. The Uyghur community deserve accountability from the High Commissioner’s Office after nearly a year of delays. It is crucial that the findings of this in-depth investigation are released to the wider international community immediately and in full.