UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet will be in China "
soon
" in a long-awaited visit during which she will travel to the Xinjiang region, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday. May 17.
Read alsoUyghurs: new “Xinjiang papers” confirm Xi Jinping’s role in the repression
Beijing is accused of human rights violations against the Muslim Uyghur minority in this region.
“
The High Commissioner must go to Guangzhou and Xinjiang.
She will not travel to Beijing due to the Covid-related situation, but she will meet with high-level government officials
,” spokeswoman Liz Throssell said during a regular press briefing in Geneva.
Her visit is to last "
six to seven days
", and she is not expected to travel to Tibet.
His spokesperson explained that the passage through Canton was explained precisely by the fact that it was difficult to go to Beijing due to the strengthening of anti-Covid measures in the Chinese capital against the backdrop of an epidemic rebound.
Michelle Bachelet, as a high-ranking official visitor, however, will not have to quarantine unlike her preparatory team.
The latter is now in the Xinjiang region, where Beijing is accused of crimes against humanity against the Muslim Uyghur minority.
Several Western countries, including the United States, France and the United Kingdom, have denounced an ongoing "
genocide
" against the Uyghurs.
Beijing formally denies.
Read alsoChina responsible for a “genocide” of the Uyghurs, say experts gathered in London
Report on Xinjiang released
Michelle Bachelet is scheduled to travel to China at the end of the month, “
soon
,” her spokeswoman said.
The purpose of this visit, she said, is to have "
a dialogue with the Chinese government and the Chinese authorities on a range of human rights issues at the national, regional and global levels.
".
"
So we really hope that this visit will strengthen the engagement between the United Nations Human Rights Office and China
," insisted Liz Throssell.
Michelle Bachelet must also publish a report on Xinjiang.
This document, eagerly awaited by Westerners and NGOs, has not yet been made public.
Her spokesperson explained that it would not be published before Michelle Bachelet's departure for China, since it will contain elements of her visit.
Like all OHCHR reports, it will be submitted for consideration to the country concerned, China, so that Beijing can express its point of view.
According to human rights organizations, at least a million Uyghurs and members of other Turkic minorities, mainly Muslims, are or have been incarcerated in camps in Xinjiang, placed under close surveillance by the authorities.
Beijing disputes, saying that they are vocational training centers intended to keep them away from terrorism and separatism, after numerous deadly attacks attributed to Islamists or Uyghur separatists.