UN human rights report on China's torture of Uighurs: MEPs call for strong EU response

It was the report that China hoped would never see the light of day. Just minutes before her mandate ended, the office of now-former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet published its long-overdue assessment of human rights in China's Xinjiang region. It contained damning findings of mass arbitrary detention of Uighur minority people, forced labour, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, as well as other atrocities which could legally be considered crimes against humanity. This chimes with the position of the European Parliament, which had already overwhelmingly voted to recognise the Chinese government's treatment of the Uighurs as such. But where does the EU go from here? We put the question to two MEPs.

Oct 7, 2022 - 13:57
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UN human rights report on China's torture of Uighurs: MEPs call for strong EU response
It was the report that China hoped would never see the light of day. Just minutes before her mandate ended, the office of now-former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet published its long-overdue assessment of human rights in China's Xinjiang region. It contained damning findings of mass arbitrary detention of Uighur minority people, forced labour, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, as well as other atrocities which could legally be considered crimes against humanity. This chimes with the position of the European Parliament, which had already overwhelmingly voted to recognise the Chinese government's treatment of the Uighurs as such. But where does the EU go from here? We put the question to two MEPs.