UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has been criticised for her failure to assess allegations of genocide and human rights violations against Uyghurs following her rare trip to China.
In an online press briefing on Saturday, she urged Beijing to review its counter-terrorism policies to ensure they comply with international human rights standards.
But Ms Bachelet reiterated that her six-day trip was not an investigation into China's human rights policies, but rather an opportunity to engage with the government in a "candour" manner.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, meets with Michelle Bachelet in Guangzhou, southern China's Guangdong Province. Source: AAP / AP / Deng Hua
, who rights groups and some countries believe have been subject to arbitrary detention, forced labour and targeted government surveillance.
But she said she was ‘’unable to assess’’ the full scale of the violations in the detention centres.
"I have raised questions and concerns about the application of counter-terrorism and deradicalisation measures under broad application, particularly the impact on the rights of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities," she said.
"During my visit, the government assured me that the [internment camp] system has been dismantled."
Her comments drew the ire of the international Uyghur community, with the World Uyghur Congress describing her China visit as a "wasted historic opportunity" to call out the human rights violations that are believed to be ongoing.
"As expected, the High Commissioner has wasted a historic opportunity to investigate the Uyghur genocide and deliver justice to the Uyghur people," World Uyghur Congress President Dolkun Isa said.
Mr Isa said Ms Bachelet "ruined her office's credibility" by visiting China that "by no means adequately addressed justice for Uyghurs and accountability for those responsible."
Dolkun Isa, President of the World Uyghur Congress, attends the opening of the World Uyghur Congress in Bavaria, Munich, on 26 May 2022. Source: Getty / Picture Alliance
"How did you conclude that #China authorities have closed mass arbitrary detention facilities if you weren’t investigating? You owe it to those who paid a high price to share info with you to answer their questions," Ms Richardson wrote on Twitter.
Initially, China denied the existence of any detention camps in Xinjiang.
But in 2018, the government said it had set up "vocational training centres", necessary to free Uyghurs of "extremist" beliefs.
In 2019, Xinjiang Governor Shohrat Zakir said all trainees had "graduated".
Ms Bachelet's access was limited as China arranged for her to travel in a "closed loop" - isolating people within a virtual bubble to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and no international media was permitted.
Her visit coincided with a data leak from a consortium of international media, revealing unprecedented detail into the detention centres Uyghurs were in, with thousands of images of detainees published, that are believed to be taken in 2018.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington "remains concerned" about Ms Bachelet's trip to China.
"We are concerned the conditions Beijing authorities imposed on the visit did not enable a complete and independent assessment of the human rights environment in the PRC, including in Xinjiang, where genocide and crimes against humanity are ongoing," Mr Blinken said in a statement late on Saturday.
The US, French, Dutch and Canadian parliaments have denounced China's treatment of Uyghurs as genocide, .
The US was "further troubled" by reports Xinjiang residents were pressured not to complain about conditions in the area.
"The High Commissioner should have been allowed confidential meetings with family members of Uyghur and other ethnic minority diaspora communities in Xinjiang who are not in detention facilities but are forbidden from travelling out of the region," he said.
Human rights groups and western countries worry that China will whitewash her trip as an endorsement of its rights record. US State Department spokesman Ned Price had said on Tuesday it was "a mistake to agree to a visit under the circumstances".
Ms Bachelet said she had raised with the Chinese government the lack of independent judicial oversight on the operation of the centres and allegations of the use of force, ill-treatment and severe restrictions on religious practice.
During the media briefing, Ms Bachelet also described as "deeply worrying" the detention in Hong Kong of activists, lawyers and journalists.
Additional reporting by Rayane Tamer.
