Dozens of countries demand UN chief access to Uyghur prison camps

More than 40 countries have urged China to immediately allow the UN chief for human rights in the Xinjiang region. Countries want to investigate reports that the Uyghur minority is being forced to do forced labor or illegally detained and tortured.

“Credible reports indicate that over a million people are randomwillekeurig tenuous in Xinjiang and that there is widespread surveillance that disproportionately targets Uyghurs and members of other minorities. It also restricts fundamental freedoms and Uyghur culture, ”the statement said.

Canadian Ambassador Leslie Norton read the joint statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Australia, France, Germany, Japan and the United States, among others, signed the declaration.

“We urge China to allow independent observers, including High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, immediate, meaningful and free access to Xinjiang,” the statement said.

Bachelet says he hopes to agree on conditions to travel to China, including Xinjiang, to investigate the information. She says she has been in negotiations since September 2018.