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 by AFP Staff Writers Beijing (AFP) Sept 1, 2022
The United Nations on Wednesday released a landmark report detailing serious human rights abuses by China against the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. Here is a rundown on the region and the people who live there: - Where is Xinjiang? - The vast region of Xinjiang lies in China's far west and makes up around one-sixth of the country's continental territory. Its population of around 26 million is ethnically diverse, including Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other minority groups. A resource-rich region of desert, grassland and mountain ranges, Xinjiang borders eight nations including Russia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Lying on the ancient Silk Road, it holds valuable natural resources like coal, oil and gas, as well as precious metals and stones. The region has swung in and out of Chinese rule over the centuries, but fell back into Beijing's orbit as the Communist Party launched a military-led settlement programme after taking control of the country in 1949. - Who are the Uyghurs? - The Uyghurs are a mostly Muslim ethnic group who speak a Turkic language and are culturally closer to communities in Central Asia than Beijing. Around 12 million of them live in Xinjiang -- making up around 45 percent of the population -- with their cultural heartlands lying primarily in the region's arid south. In 1953, the Uyghur population was more than 75 percent of the region, according to a census cited in the UN report. Then, the ethnic Han Chinese accounted for seven percent. That number now stands at around 42 percent. Historically, some Uyghurs have opposed Chinese rule and favoured the establishment of an independent state known as East Turkestan. They say Beijing has curbed Uyghur religious and cultural expression and primarily enriched its Han majority through development projects in Xinjiang. - Why has Beijing targeted the Uyghurs? - Beijing has stepped up security measures in Xinjiang in recent years in what it calls an effort to combat separatism and Islamic extremism. Violent clashes involving both Uyghurs and Han killed around 200 people in the regional capital Urumqi in 2009. A spate of apparent terrorist incidents occurred over the following years, including a 2013 attack in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and a suicide bombing at Urumqi train station in 2014. Authorities responded with a campaign to "strike hard" against alleged terrorism, building security checkpoints in Xinjiang's cities while also conducting house raids and barring certain expressions of Islamic faith. The crackdown has expanded dramatically since 2017 as Beijing has vowed to eradicate extremist thought once and for all. - What is China accused of? - Beijing stands accused of incarcerating over one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a network of detention facilities across Xinjiang. Campaigners and Uyghurs overseas have said an array of abuses takes place inside the facilities, including torture, forced labour, forced sterilisation and political indoctrination. The UN report detailed "credible" evidence of torture, forced medical treatment and sexual or gender-based violence. But it stopped short of labelling Beijing's actions a "genocide", as the United States and some other Western lawmakers have done. China has long denied the allegations, calling them the "lie of the century" and insisting its actions in Xinjiang have helped to combat extremism and enhance development. It says the facilities are vocational training centres that people attend of their own volition.
Five key allegations in the UN's Xinjiang report The report was immediately met by a lengthy rebuttal from China's mission to Geneva. Here are five main allegations from the UN and China's responses: - Mass arbitrary detention - The UN report describes a "pattern of large-scale arbitrary detention" in Xinjiang, in which individuals suspected of terrorism are held in high-security facilities without due process and for indefinite lengths of time. Everything from having too many children, wearing a veil or beard, or not using one's passport are cited as behaviours that can lead authorities to identify individuals as being at risk of "extremism" and mark them for possible detention. More recently there have been signs of a shift toward formal jail terms "as the principal means for large-scale imprisonment and deprivation of liberty", according to the report. Many have been detained without their family members being informed, it also notes. China has dismissed allegations of mass arbitrary detention as "lies". It insists it has "clearly specified" definitions of terrorism and extremism that have "ruled out arbitrary enforcement due to vague, over-stretching and general legal provisions". - Torture - The report says it found "credible" allegations of torture and sexual assault -- including rape -- at detention centres in Xinjiang. Former detainees interviewed by the UN describe being beaten while immobilised in "tiger chairs" -- used by Chinese police to restrain interrogation subjects -- and being forced to receive unexplained medical treatments, as well as instances of rape and "invasive gynaecological examinations". "The Government's blanket denials of all allegations, as well as its gendered and humiliating attacks on those who have come forward to share their experiences... have added to the indignity and suffering of survivors," the UN report says. China insists the centres "fully guarantee that trainees' personal dignity is inviolable, and prohibit any insult or abuse of them in any manner". Beijing has publicly condemned women who made claims of sexual assault in the camps, using their alleged sexual health and relationship statuses in an attempt to discredit them. - Forced sterilisations and abortions - The UN says it spoke to women who recounted being "forced to have abortions or forced to have IUDs inserted" -- claims it said were believed to be credible. Noting a sharp decline in Xinjiang's birth rates from 2017, as well as a Beijing white paper linking frequent births and religious extremism, the UN's human rights office says "there are credible indications of violations of reproductive rights through the coercive enforcement of family planning policies". China dismisses claims of forced sterilisations as "disinformation", saying people in Xinjiang are voluntarily opting to marry later and have fewer children due to improved education and living conditions. - Suppression of religious freedom - The UN report says China has "exceptionally broad interpretations of 'extremism'" that criminalise activities "connected to the enjoyment of cultural and religious life". Activities including wearing hijabs and giving children Muslim names are flagged as signs of "religious extremism", which "can lead to serious consequences for persons so identified", according to the report. The OHCHR also notes "deeply concerning" reports about the destruction of mosques and cemeteries in Xinjiang. China insists all "normal religious activities" in Xinjiang are protected by the law, pointing to government-funded renovations of some mosques as well as an expansion of official training institutes for Islamic clerics as evidence. - Forced labour - The report says it found indications that employment programmes in Xinjiang could "involve elements of coercion" -- echoing long-standing claims by the United States and others that forced labour was taking place in the region. The report notes government statements that refer to transferring people from vocational centres to factories, raising questions about "the extent to which such programmes can be considered fully voluntary". China says "trainees" at vocational centres "could freely choose their jobs". and that graduates "are earning wages and living a prosperous life".
UN rights chief admits 'tremendous pressure' over Xinjiang report Geneva (AFP) Aug 25, 2022 The UN rights chief said Thursday she was facing "tremendous pressure" over a long-delayed report on China's Xinjiang region and admitted that she was uncertain when it would appear. Michelle Bachelet has repeatedly vowed to publish a report on the rights situation in Xinjiang, where Beijing stands accused of detaining more than one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, before her term ends on August 31. But during her final press conference as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, her u ... read more
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