UN : China should allow ‘credible visit’ by human rights chief

United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has told the Chinese leadership that he expects Beijing to allow the world body’s human rights chief to make a “credible visit” to China, including Xinjiang where the country is facing serious rights violations against Uygur Muslims.

Guterres, who was in Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, met Chinese President Xi Jinping and State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the margins of the games. China had said last month that UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet is welcome to visit Xinjiang, where Beijing faces serious human rights allegations against Uygur Muslims, after the Winter Olympic Games to promote cooperation and not an investigation based on the “presumption of guilt”.

A readout issued here on Saturday after Guterres’ meetings with the top Chinese authorities said: “The Secretary-General also expressed his expectation that the contacts between the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Chinese authorities will allow for a credible visit of the High Commissioner to China, including Xinjiang”.

Guterres and the Chinese authorities also discussed regional issues, with “particular emphasis on Afghanistan.” The readout said that facing the “dramatic challenges of the pandemic, climate change and the multiplication of conflicts,” the Secretary-General underscored the importance of unity and solidarity in a multilateral framework bridging geopolitical divides. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian had said that an invitation to the UN human rights chief was extended a long time ago and the two sides have been maintaining communication. (PTI)