UN’s Human Rights Office finds CCP’s policies for Uyghur persecution remain in place

The United Nations (UN), in its public update last week, stated that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has not changed policies it uses to justify its persecution of Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic groups as well as religious minorities in the country.

The United Nations said the Chinese Communist regime’s policies for Uyghur persecution remain unchanged, even after a large-scale UN investigation conducted two years ago.

Earlier in 2022, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a damning report, titled “OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China”, concluding “serious human rights violations have been committed” by the Chinese Communist regime in the Xinjiang region, which is the home to 25 million people of various ethnicities.

“Serious human rights violations have been committed in XUAR (Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the official name of Xinjiang) in the context of the Government’s application of counter-terrorism and counter-“extremism” strategies. The implementation of these strategies, and associated policies in XUAR has led to interlocking patterns of severe and undue restrictions on a wide range of human rights,” the OHCHR said in the report.

“These patterns of restrictions are characterized by a discriminatory component, as the underlying acts often directly or indirectly affect Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim communities,” it added.

After the investigation, the OHCHR uncovered cases of physical and psychological torture, forced medical treatment, and sexual abuse, while the UN Human Rights Office concluded the CCP’s actions, which the Communist regime claims are legal responses to terrorism and extremism, may constitute crimes against humanity, and warrant further probe.

Beijing’s abuse of Uyghurs in Xinjiang was reported as early as 2016.

The UN investigation came after international lawmakers petitioned the organization to look into alleged genocide at the 47th regular session of the OHCHR in 2021.

In 2014 and 2018, the Chinese Communist regime passed so-called counterterrorism laws, which it claims are aimed at curbing extremism among Muslim Uyghurs through re-education, according to reports.

The laws are broad, defining terrorist activity as vaguely as “disruption of social order” without providing concrete examples, and they also prohibit what the CCP says are extremist ideas, thoughts, activities, clothing, and content, but, again, without offering specific examples, as reported by The Epoch Times.

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani said in the August 27 update that the OHCHR has had detailed exchanges with the CCP regarding the policies it uses to justify persecution in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong.

The spokesperson also said that a team had visited China to discuss the CCP’s terrorism and extremism policies in June.

“In particular, on Xinjiang, we understand that many problematic laws and policies remain in place, and we have called again on the authorities to undertake a full review, from the human rights perspective, of the legal framework governing national security and counter-terrorism and to strengthen the protection of minorities against discrimination” Shamdasani said.

“Allegations of human rights violations, including torture, need to be fully investigated,” the spokesperson added.

The United Nations has urged Beijing to revise its policies in line with international human rights principles and stated it would continue to seek active engagement.

The OHCHR indicated it would continue to petition for the release of wrongfully detained individuals and continue to investigate.

“We are also continuing to follow closely the current human rights situation in China, despite the difficulties posed by limited access to information and the fear of reprisals against individuals who engage with the United Nations,” the statement reads.

“We have continued to raise with the Government individual cases of particular concern, calling on the authorities to take prompt steps to release all individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty, and to clarify the status and whereabouts of those whose families have been seeking information about them,” it added.

OHCHR stated that the organization is committed to sustained engagement with the Chinese government and to advocating on behalf of victims.

The UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Volker Türk, last week acknowledged that in Xinjiang “many problematic laws and policies remain in place,” and reported that his office continues to press the Chinese authorities to free those being held in arbitrary detention, and clarify the status and whereabouts of those missing.

He expressed hope that, through continued “engagement” with the government, his office could work toward “tangible progress in the protection of human rights for all in China.”

Türk said that his office was “continuing to advocate for implementation” of its recommendations, even though the Chinese delegation has continued to reject all recommendations from the 2022 Xinjiang report.

Chinese authorities reportedly have dismissed the report as “illegal and void” as recently as during the conclusion of the UN Universal Periodic Review of China’s human rights record in July.

Maya Wang, associate China director at Human Rights Watch — a New York City-headquartered international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights, called for follow-up investigations and for Beijing to implement policy changes proposed by the UN.

“Beijing’s brazen refusal to meaningfully address well-documented crimes in Xinjiang is no surprise, but shows the need for a robust follow-up by the UN human rights chief and UN member states,” Wang said.

“Contrary to the Chinese government’s claims, its punitive campaign against millions of Uyghurs in Xinjiang continues to inflict great pain,” she added.

“The UN human rights commissioner has recognized that many of the ‘problematic laws and policies’ that led to the abusive crackdown against Uyghurs remain in place,” Maya Wang said.

“Two years since the UN Human Rights Office report concluded that abuses in Xinjiang ‘may constitute crimes against humanity,’ the office needs to issue an update on the current situation in Xinjiang and present a concrete action plan for holding those responsible to account,” the senior China researcher said.

Similarly, another international human rights organization, the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), urged the Chinese regime “to adopt a roadmap with a clear timeline for the implementation of recommendations,” and for UN bodies to further investigate.

“We welcome the High Commissioner’s commitment to work with civil society and advocate for the implementation of all UN recommendations to China. Beijing does not get to cherry pick: UN human rights findings are indivisible and, altogether, chart the only genuine path forward for China to achieve meaningful human rights change. Any step away from it is deceitful and a proof of lack of willingness to be a responsible global actor,” ISHR’s China programme manager Raphäel Viana David said in a statement.

The Chinese Communist regime has been dismissive of accusations of persecution, generally issuing evasive or blame-shifting statements describing the accusations as slander or a smear.

In a recent report from the United States’ Yale University, researchers estimated that Uyghurs imprisoned by the Communist regime face a total of 4.4 million cumulative years of incarceration.

The report from Yale’s Macmillan Center for Genocide Studies indicates that the CCP has shifted from mass arbitrary detentions to a legally dubious framework for imprisoning individuals.

According to the report, researchers analyzed 13,000 cases from the Xinjiang Victims Database, finding an average sentence of 8.8 years.