UK urges China to allow UN ‘immediate and unfettered’ access to its detention camps

by Sharmini
Nov 26, 2019
<p>The UK has urged China to allow the United Nations ‘immediate and unfettered’ access to its detention camps in Xianjing where at least one million Uighur Muslims are being held involuntarily.</p> <p>The UK Foreign Office made this call in response to ‘The China Cables,’ a data leak of classified documents which found that the camps were envisioned from the start to be brainwashing detention centres.</p> <p>A Foreign Office spokesperson said:</p> <p>“We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the Chinese government's escalating crackdown, in particular the extra-judicial detention of over a million Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities. The UK continues to call on China to allow UN observers immediate and unfettered access to the region."</p> <p>Liu Xiaoming, China’s UK ambassador, dismissed the leak as fake news. Chinese authorities have rejected claims of mistreatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang and instead claimed they are offering 'education' to counter religious extremism and terrorism.</p> <p>The documents were obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists who shared the documents with 17 media organisations, including the BBC and The Guardian.</p> <p>Read more <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50551996">here </a>and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/25/uk-calls-for-un-access-ch…">here</a>.</p>

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