UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed concern on Tuesday about the oppression of ethnic minorities in China.
Türk recalled the report of his predecessor Michelle Bachelet on the situation in the Xinjiang region. China had succeeded in preventing a debate on this last year at the UN Human Rights Council.
Bachelet published the report just before midnight on August 31, just minutes before her term ended.
"In the Xinjiang region, my office has documented serious concerns - in particular arbitrary arrests on a large scale and ongoing family separations," Türk said.
He said the office had made recommendations to which China must respond.
"We are also concerned about severe restrictions on civil space in general, including arbitrary detention of human rights defenders and lawyers, and the impact of the National Security Act in Hong Kong," Türk said.
Discussions on complex human rights issues may be sensitive for some, Türk said. "Others think it is best talked about quietly, and behind closed doors," he said, not specifically addressing China.
"At first you may not like what you hear, but in time you may appreciate what we had to say," he said.
The high commissioner mentioned numerous other countries where human rights are not sufficiently respected, including Mali, Eritrea, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Haiti, Afghanistan and Iran. He also mentioned in this context the alarming poverty in Britain and police violence, especially against black people, in the United States.
