US lawmakers on Tuesday urged UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to release a report on Xinjiang, where the treatment of Uyghurs crystallizes tensions between China and Westerners, before the start Beijing Winter Olympics.
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Publishing this report before the Olympic Games, scheduled for February 4 to 20, “would reaffirm the fact that no country is above the law or international law”, plead the two elected Democrats at the head of the Congress group dedicated to China, Senator Jeff Merkley and elected official James McGovern.
Michelle Bachelet, who heads the High Commission, has for years been asking Beijing for “meaningful and unhindered access” to Xinjiang, but no such visit has so far been possible.
In mid-December, a spokesman for the High Commissioner had indicated that a report could however be published in “a few weeks”.
But human rights advocates are calling on the UN to get tough.
Several human rights organizations have accused China of having interned at least a million Muslims in Xinjiang in “re-education camps”. Beijing denies this figure and speaks of “vocational training centers” to support employment and fight religious extremism.
The United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom announced that they would not send official representation to the Games because of “the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights violations”.
On the other hand, the athletes of these countries will participate well in the competitions.