On August 31, 2022, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a long-delayed and much anticipated report entitled OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China. Two years after the release of the groundbreaking report, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, issued a rare public statement on his Office’s work on China on August 27, 2024.
In a public statement, the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, said it had “detailed exchanges” with the Chinese government on various human rights issues including rights of the Uyghur and Tibetan people and the human rights situation in Hong Kong. The spokesperson said “a UN Human Rights team visited China and engaged in dialogue with the authorities” in June 2024. On the Uyghur situation, the spokesperson said:
“We understand that many problematic laws and policies remain in place, and we have called again on the authorities to undertake a full review, from the human rights perspective, of the legal framework governing national security and counter-terrorism and to strengthen the protection of minorities against discrimination. Allegations of human rights violations, including torture, need to be fully investigated.”
The statement expressed hope that the office will continue its “active engagement” with the Chinese government and “to follow closely the current human rights situation in China, despite the difficulties posed by limited access to information and the fear of reprisals against individuals who engage with the United Nations.” It said it was continuing to advocate for the implementation of the recommendations made during the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review process.
