Emma Farge and By Yew Lun Tan

BEIJING/GENEVA – Monday’s visit by Michelle Bachelet to China marks the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights. It is her first official trip since 2005. However, there are concerns it might lead to an endorsement instead of a thorough examination of China’s rights records.

Bachelet’s six-day visit to Xinjiang will be his last. Last year, the office of the High Commissioner said that the Uyghurs, mostly Muslims, were unlawfully held, mistreated and made work.

Bachelet’s Office stated that the visit was primarily about a dialog with Chinese authorities regarding a variety of human rights issues, including those in China.

China denied mistreatment Uyghurs repeatedly.

It has taken a long time to plan the May 23-28 visit after Bachelet stated in 2018 that she wants unrestricted access in Xinjiang. China stated that the China visit shouldn’t be made based upon the presumption or guilt. The extent of Bachelet’s rights to access is not known.

Rights groups are concerned that if Bachelet fails to press China sufficiently, then her post-trip report might not be complete and Beijing may use the report to justify its actions in Xinjiang.

Bachelet was urged by the World Uyghur Congress to allow her and her team free movement, all facilities access, and unsupervised contact Uyghurs.

“We worry that this trip may do more harm than good. China could potentially use it for propaganda purposes,” Zumretay Arkin, a Congress spokesperson, said to Reuters.

After the United Nations reported that 1 million Uyghurs had been held in “massive internement camps”, which were set up to indoctrinate political leaders, international scrutiny over the actions of the government in Xinjiang was intensified in 2018.

China first denied that there were camps. However, it later acknowledged the existence of “vocational training centers” and dormitories in which people could “voluntarily” register to study law, Chinese language, or vocational skills.

According to the atheist-ruled Communist Party, such centers are needed in order to stop “Three Forces,” separatism, terrorism and religious extremism in Xinjiang. This area borders Central Asia along China’s northern frontier.

Shohrat Zakir (Xinjiang Governor) stated in 2019 that all of the trainees had “graduated”.

Over concerns over forced labor, the United States has sanctioned Chinese officials who were accused of violating rights in Xinjiang between 2020-2021.

Beijing denied Western claims of forced labor, genocide, and other human rights violations and has repeatedly warned against foreign interference in its internal affairs.