Controversial trip to China: Bachelet’s cautious balance sheet

UN Human Rights Commissioner Bachelet’s trip to China was controversial from the start. In her final statement, she formulated her criticism only cautiously. Activists speak of a missed opportunity.

The UN human rights commissioner spent six days in China – two days of which were in the Uyghur region of Xinjiang in the north-west of the country. Media representatives were not allowed to accompany Michelle Bachelet. China justified this with the strict measures against the corona pandemic.

At her final press conference in Guangzhou, southern China, which was broadcast by video, Bachelet emphasized that it was not about investigating human rights violations. Official visits by a human rights commissioner are high-ranking, she said – meaning that she spoke primarily to representatives of the state leadership, including state and party leader Xi Jinping.

Concerns about the situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur region

Bachelet formulated her criticism of China with appropriate caution. She has expressed her concern about the situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur region, she said. She asked Beijing to avoid arbitrariness and to comply with international human rights standards. In particular, she addressed the measures taken by the Chinese leadership to combat terrorism and de-radicalization in Xinjiang and called on the government to review its actions.

Reports of abuse and torture

China is internationally criticized for its oppression of the Uyghurs. According to international research, hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic minorities are being or were held in camps. There are reports of mistreatment and followers.

China describes the camps as training centers and justifies the action with the fight against extremism and Islamist terror. Human rights organizations, on the other hand, accuse China of crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.

Bachelet said she visited a prison in Xinjiang, among other things. She was also able to speak to people in the region without the supervision of the authorities. However, she was unable to get a comprehensive picture of the camps.

Trip controversial from the start

Bachelet’s journey was controversial from the start. The human rights organization Human Rights Watch described it as a missed opportunity. Bachelet is “either unable or unwilling to hold the second most powerful government in the world accountable,” Human Rights Watch’s Sophie Richardson said ARD. Bachelet failed to openly name the severe human rights violations in Xinjiang.