EU criticizes situation in Xinjiang

The European Union has criticized China on the occasion of the Human Rights Day on December 10 with unusually strong words. „The EU continues to be gravely concerned about the human rights situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, with particular regard to the large-scale arbitrary detentions, widespread surveillance, and systemic restrictions on freedom of religion or belief,“ the EU representation in Beijing said on Friday. It called on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to increase efforts to address the issue. EU diplomats also demanded „unrestricted and unsupervised access by independent international experts, foreign journalists, and diplomats“. In the statement, the EU representation listed in detail human rights violations in Xinjiang and named imprisoned dissidents and journalists.