UN Experts Ask China to Address Human Rights Concerns
The experts stressed the value of constructive dialogue with the Government by all UN human rights entities.
A group of UN experts on June 10 urged the Government of China to cooperate fully with the UN human rights system and grant unhindered access to independent experts who have received and addressed allegations of significant human rights violations and repression of fundamental freedoms in the country.
“Cooperation includes allowing visits by UN Special Procedures mechanisms and granting full access, particularly to places of detention,” the experts said. “Strengthening engagement with independent human rights experts and Human Rights Council mechanisms is crucial to full and transparent enforcement of China’s human rights obligations.”
Recognising high-level engagement with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights by the Government of China during her recent visit to the country, the experts stressed the value of constructive dialogue with the Government by all UN human rights entities.
The experts stressed that this engagement does not replace the urgent need for a complete assessment of the human rights situation in the country, and especially in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Tibet Autonomous Region, and in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
“The Government of China must address specific and systematic human rights violations,” the UN experts said, calling on authorities in Beijing to ensure full and transparent cooperation with the totality of the UN’s human rights system.
They renewed the calls made in a June 2020 joint statement by 50 UN Special Rapporteurs and human rights experts, which catalogued concerns about the treatment of ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the Tibet Autonomous Region, allegations of excessive force against protesters including in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and reports of retaliation against people speaking out about the coronavirus outbreak.
