220 Rights Groups Demand UN High Commissioner Postpone China Visit

By Mary Trewartha / May 5, 2022;

A coalition of more than 220 groups have urgently demanded that Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner, immediately postpone her imminent visit to China, warning that “the upcoming visit risks aiding Beijing’s attempts to whitewash repression against Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hongkongers, Southern Mongolians and others”.

The coalition is led by Tibetan, Uyghur, Hongkonger, Southern Mongolian and Chinese democracy groups, they say that the visit risks Ms Bachalet “walking into a propaganda minefield laid out by the Chinese Communist Party”.

They report that, to date, she has not met “any of the affected communities despite multiple requests and the overwhelming evidence of genocide and rampant human rights abuses (including widespread torture and sexual abuse) nor has she met with wider civil society organisations for specific briefings on Beijing’s crackdown” and continue, saying “Ms Bachelet has also ignored all offers to meet survivors from the Uyghur camps, Tibetan former political prisoners or Chinese democracy activists linked to the Tiananmen Square Massacre. She has simultaneously remained silent on the unprecedented statement by over 50 UN experts calling for ‘urgent’ and ‘decisive measures’ to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of those living under Chinese rule”.

The coalition says in their statement that she has “failed to raise any concern about the situation in occupied Tibet, which has not been mentioned as a visit location, despite being ranked as the least free place in the world for the second year in a row. Hong Kong and Southern Mongolia are also missing from her list of visit locations though both places have witnessed historic protests and subsequent crackdowns on human rights and freedom in the past two years.”

The statement continues, “Tibetan, Uyghur, Hongkonger, Southern Mongolian and Chinese communities are urgently calling for crucial guarantees that they expect to be met ahead of Bachelet’s visit, including:
Release of the OHCHR report on serious human rights violations in East Turkistan;
Assurances of secure meetings with independent civil society organisations, human rights defenders and survivors of China’s human rights abuses including groups in the diaspora, in advance of the visit;
Transparency about the measures taken to date to ensure unfettered access to all areas including Tibet, East Turkistan, Southern Mongolia and Hong Kong.”

The coalition’s lead signatories are:

– China Against the Death Penalty
– Free Tibet
– Hong Kong Watch
– International Campaign for Tibet
– International Tibet Network
– Southern Mongolian Human Rights Center
– Students for a Free Tibet
– Tibet Action Institute
– Tibet Initiative Deutschland
– Tibet Justice Center
– Tibetan Youth Association in Europe
– Uyghur Human Rights Project
– We The Hongkongers