China welcomes UN human rights chief's May visit to Xinjiang

ISTANBUL

China on Wednesday welcomed the UN human rights chief's upcoming visit to its Xinjiang region, home to ethnic Uyghur Muslims.

"China welcomes UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet's visit to China and the Xinjiang region in May," said Zhao Lijian, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

“The two sides are working on detailed arrangements,” Zhao said, adding that Beijing “opposes some countries politicizing the visit,” Chinese public broadcaster CGTN reported.

Bachelet revealed on Tuesday that China had agreed to allow a UN delegation to visit the Xinjiang region.

“I am pleased to announce that we have recently reached an agreement with the Government of China for a visit,” she told the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

Bachelet said her office and the Chinese government had “initiated concrete preparations for a visit that is foreseen to take place in May of this year" to the landlocked region in northwest China.

She said preparations would have to take into account COVID-19 regulations.

Beijing has accepted the visit of an advanced team from the UN Refugee Agency in April to prepare for Bachelet's visit to China.

According to the UN data, at least 1 million Uyghurs are kept against their will in places Beijing calls "vocational training centers" and the international community defines as "re-education camps."

While the UN and other international organizations have reiterated their calls for the camps to be opened for inspection, China has allowed a small number of foreign diplomats and journalists to visit a few of its designated centers.

Several countries have accused China of ethnic cleansing of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Beijing has denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations "lies and (a) political virus."