United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is set to visit East Turkestan – the Muslim majority north western territory of China also known as Xinjiang. China is subject to international criticism for its repression of the Uighur population there and the UN is demanding “unfettered access” for the visit. Beijing says it will welcome the visit on the condition they stay out of its internal affairs.
The forthcoming visit, due to take place later this year, has hit the global media. China has vetoed visits to East Turkestan where the Uighur people are subject to similar repressions as Tibetans living in Tibet. A Reuters article stated, “China’s envoy in Geneva said […] that he hoped UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet would visit China, including Xinjiang, where he said ‘education training centres’ were helping to stamp out extremism and give people new skills.
Tibet.net reported that Ms Bachelet has “welcomed the invitation to visit China”, saying “we will seek to analyse in-depth the human rights situation in China, including the situation of members of the Uighur minority”. The visit is giving rise to calls from Tibet supporters around the world for Ms Bachelet to “remember Tibet” and urging her to visit Tibet. The last UN High Commissioner to visit Tibet was Ms Mary Robinson in 1998, since when China has repeatedly denied UN officials access to Tibet.
Ms Bachelet’s request for “unfettered access” has prompted reports of the tight control exercised over the few visits to China permitted for UN officials, always subject to constant chaperone and monitoring.
The situation in Tibet is closely linked with that of East Turkestan and there is international pressure from Tibet for the UN to demand the right to visit Tibet along with East Turkestan. Kai Mueller,head of the International Campaign for Tibet’s(ICT) UN Advocacy Team for Tibetsaid, “The human rights situation in Tibet is troubling, with systematic and widespread repression being the daily normal” and continued, “Tibet, like Xinjiang, is subject to deeply discriminatory policies and totalitarian measures of control, particularly in religious and cultural spheres. Tibet has also been the testing ground for what we are witnessing today in Xinjiang”. ICT works to promote democratic freedoms for Tibetans, ensure their human rights, and protect Tibetan culture and the environment.
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