JAKARTA - China denies allegations of genocide that occurred in Xinjiang, including the treatment of Uighur Muslims directed by European powers and Turkey against China. As well as requests for access to visit Xinjiang.
This denial was conveyed by China at the UN Human Rights Council meeting on Monday, February 22 in Geneva, Switzerland. UN rights activists and experts say at least 1 million Muslims are detained in camps in Xinjiang.
However, China says the camps are needed to counter extremism by providing vocational training.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the UN Human Rights Council that they are taking counter-terrorism measures according to the law. They also said that Xinjiang enjoys social stability and good development after four years without a terrorist case.
"There are 24,000 mosques in Xinjiang, where people from all ethnic groups also enjoy labor rights," he told Reuters.
"These basic facts show that there has never been such a thing as genocide, forced labor, or religious persecution in Xinjiang. Such incitemental accusations are made out of ignorance and prejudice, it is just malicious and politically driven hype and cannot be further from the truth," he explained.
Wang also ensured that China, as a member of the UN Human Rights Council for the period 2021-2023, always opens the door to Xinjiang for UN inspection, although it does not provide a time schedule.
“The door to Xinjiang is always open. People from many countries who have visited Xinjiang have learned the facts and the truth on the ground. China also welcomes the High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Xinjiang, "he said, referring to UN Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet, whose office has negotiated terms of access to the country.
Previously, the Joe Biden Administration had supported a last-minute decision by the Trump Administration that China had committed genocide in Xinjiang and said the United States must be prepared to impose its costs on China.
Meanwhile, British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab has condemned the torture, forced labor and sterilization that it says is taking place against Uighurs, on an industrial scale in Xinjiang.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the arbitrary detention of ethnic minorities such as the Uighurs in Xinjiang, or China's crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong required attention.
In addition, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu hopes for transparency from China on this issue, as well as calls for protecting the rights of Uighurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang.
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