“We condemn China’s abuse of members of ethnic and religious minority groups including crimes against humanity and genocide in Xinjiang and severe restrictions in Tibet,” U.S. charge d’affaires Mark Cassayre told the Geneva-based U.N. rights body.
Cassayre’s comments followed a call on Wednesday by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken for China to allow international monitors to probe reports of abuses in the XUAR, where authorities are believed to have held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a vast network of internment camps since early 2017. Reports suggest the camps in Xinjiang are used as punishment for signs of “extremism” that authorities say include practicing basic forms of Islam, adhering to cultural traditions, and violating strict family-planning policies.
Speaking to RFA’s Uyghur Service, Dolkun Isa—president of the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress—welcomed reports that Blinken and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet on March 18 with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Anchorage, where the issue of China’s polices in Xinjiang is likely to be on the agenda.
