World
India
Underscoring urgent human rights issues in China, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, while delivering an address at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council, has emphasised that while China has engaged with the international human rights system, progress in addressing systemic violations has been insufficient, and the international community must ramp up its efforts.
Turk particularly highlighted the ongoing persecution of lawyers, human rights defenders, and citizen journalists, many of whom face arbitrary detention.
“While China is engaging with the international human rights system, I refer back to my previous updates raising serious concerns and hope to see meaningful progress on these issues. I continue to make representations on behalf of lawyers, human rights defenders, and citizen journalists who have been arbitrarily detained under vague criminal offences”, Turk said.
Furthermore, Turk extended his concerns to the Xinjiang region, noting, “The recent report by International Labour Organization experts on counter-terrorism measures and labour programmes in the Xinjiang region reinforces our own grave concerns and underscores the urgency of addressing our longstanding recommendations.”
Turk’s remarks called for heightened international pressure on China to address human rights violations and respect fundamental freedoms.
In China, the treatment of ethnic minorities, including Uyghurs in Xinjiang, remains a significant concern, with reports of forced labor, mass detention, and cultural repression.
