The United States has expressed concern over Beijing’s efforts to restrict and manipulate the visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and her team to China that did not enable a complete and independent assessment of the human rights environment in the country, including in Xinjiang, where genocide and crimes against humanity are ongoing. The statement of the US department came in the backdrop of widespread criticism of Bachelet’s six-day China visit, which concluded on Saturday, that it was not an investigation and instead she spoke with candour in her meetings with the Chinese officials.
The United States remains concerned about the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and her team`s visit to the People`s Republic of China (PRC) and Beijing`s efforts to restrict and manipulate her visit, the State Department said in its statement. Survivors and family members of detainees have described cruel treatment that shocks the conscience, including torture, forced sterilization, state-sponsored forced labour, sexual violence, and forced separation of children from their parents, it added.
The US urged China to respect the human rights of Tibetans, those living in Hong Kong, and all others who seek to peacefully exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On the conclusion of her recent six-day trip to China, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet raised concern over the arrests of lawyers, activists and journalists under the so-called National Security Law in Hong Kong.