UN accuses China of human rights violations in Xinjiang

Beijing Slams Report As Fabrication Cooked Up By West, Calls UN Rights Body An Enforcer And Accomplice Of US

Beijing: The UN accused China of serious human rights violations that may amount to “crimes against humanity” in a long-delayed report examining a crackdown on Uighurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups. Beijing on Thursday denounced the assessment as a fabrication cooked up by Western nations.

Human rights groups have accused China of sweeping a million or more people from the minority groups into detention camps where many have said they were tortured, sexually assaulted, and forced to abandon their language and religion. The camps were just one part of what the rights groups have called a ruthless campaign against extremism in the province of Xinjiang that also included draconian birth control policies and all-encompassing restrictions on people’s movement. The assessment the UN human rights office largely corroborated earlier reporting by researchers, advocacy groups and the news media, and it added the weight of the world body to the conclusions. But it was not clear what impact it would have.