| Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) • It is the principal human rights official of the United Nations. • Advises the Secretary-General on the policies of the United Nations in the area of human rights. • Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. • Established in 1993, OHCHR monitors human rights situations, provides technical assistance, and advocates for the enforcement of international human rights standards. |
- The UN Human Rights Office stated that problematic policies persist in China, two years after a ‘OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China’ cited possible “crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang.
- China has been accused of incarcerating over one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region, allegations that Beijing strongly denies.
- Xinjiang is home to the Turkic-speaking Muslim Uyghur minority.
- Rich in natural resources, its economic development has been accompanied by large-scale immigration of Han Chinese.
- Besides Uyghurs, Xinjiang is also home to mostly Muslim communities of Kazakhs, Mongols and Hui. There are also smaller communities of other minorities such as Tajiks and Kyrgyz.
- China acknowledged that “religious extremist” Uyghurs are undergoing re-education and resettlement.
- Since February 2023, the UN Office has held a series of discussions in Geneva with Chinese officials, leading to the UN human rights chief sending a team to Beijing.
- The team engaged with Chinese authorities, focusing on “counter-terrorism policies and the criminal justice system.”
Dig Deeper: Read about various UN mechanisms to enforce Human Rights all over the world.
