Human rights experts from the United Nations (UN) voiced alarm on Thursday over alleged Chinese political re-education camps for Muslim Uighurs and they called for the immediate release of those detained on the “pretext of countering terrorism”.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination cited estimates that up to one million Uighurs may be held involuntarily in extra-legal detention in China’s far western Xinjiang province.
Its findings were issued after a two-day review this month of China’s record, the first since 2009.
“We are recommending to China if this practice exists, to halt it. We are asking China to release people if they don’t have a legal ground to be detained,” said panel member Nicolas Marugan.
In Beijing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the UN experts’ comments had “no factual basis”, adding that people’s satisfaction with Xinjiang's security and stability had risen dramatically.
