UN cites possible crimes against humanity in China’s Xinjiang

Guard towers on the perimeter wall of the Urumqi No 3 Detention Centre in Dabancheng in western China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region on April 23 2021 (Mark Schiefelbein/Ap)

China’s discriminatory detention of Uighurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in the western region of Xinjiang may constitute crimes against humanity, the UN human rights office said in a long-awaited report.

The report calls for an urgent international response over allegations of torture and other rights violations in Beijing’s campaign to root out terrorism.