UN human rights chief’s report into Xinjiang faces further delays

Activists and Western governments have called on Michelle Bachelet to release the long-awaited report quickly after she finally visited the western Chinese region

But the report on Xinjiang, where Beijing is accused of wholesale abuses against Uygurs and other Muslim minorities, could be delayed for weeks or months

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A child rests near the entrance to a mosque where a banner reads “Love the party, Love the country” in Kashgar in Xinjiang. Photo: AP

Published: 11:30pm, 1 Jun 2022Updated: 1:37am, 2 Jun 2022

Western governments and activists have demanded that United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet finally release a long-awaited report into Xinjiang after her visit to China last week.

But the South China Morning Post has learned its release is unlikely to be imminent. Instead the report will be updated with “our interactions and observations from the visit”, Elizabeth Throssell, a spokeswoman for Bachelet’s office, confirmed.

Once it is finalised, it will be shared with the Chinese authorities for factual comments before publication, she added.

Former employees and observers of the agency said this process could take several weeks or even months, allowing for the time needed to translate it into up to six languages and depending on the political will of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Chinese government.

This raises questions about whether it will be ready in time for the next meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, which starts on June 12 and runs until July 8 – a demand made by some campaigners.

Speaking to Western diplomats in China last week, Bachelet had hinted that a second report based on her six-day trip would be written. But the agency confirmed that only a single report will be published and would not specify when.