Lagatar24 Desk
Beijing, Jan 28: China’s foreign ministry said the UN human rights chief is welcome to visit Xinjiang, but not for the purpose of an investigation.
The commissioner was invited to visit in the first half of 2022.
At a routine media briefing on Friday, Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian stated that the invitation to the High Commissioner for Human Rights had been given a long time ago.
According to the report by South China Morning Post on Thursday, China has agreed to allow the commissioner visit Xinjiang after the Beijing Winter Olympics.
According to the report, permission to travel after the Beijing Winter Games, which run from February 4 to 20, was granted on the condition that the trip be “friendly” and not portrayed as an investigation.
The United States and humanitarian groups have criticised China’s treatment of Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic minority in Xinjiang. Beijing has denied all charges of human rights violations, claiming that its actions are vital to prevent religious extremism.
Since September 2018, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has been in talks with China on a visit.
The Olympics have once again brought attention to China’s human rights record, which critics believe has deteriorated since 2008, triggering a diplomatic boycott by the United States and other countries.
“No one, especially the world’s leading human rights diplomat, should be fooled by the Chinese government’s efforts to distract attention away from its crimes against humanity targeting Uighurs and other Turkic communities,” Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, told Reuters in an e-mailed statement on Friday.
