China reports that the United Nations counterterrorism chief has visited Xinjiang last week irrespective of the protests from the United States and a rights group that the trip would be inappropriate in light of the human rights conditions in the far west region.
The Chinese foreign ministry reported in a statement on Sunday that Vladimir Ivanovich Voronkov traveled to Beijing and Xinjiang from Thursday to Saturday last week, during which he and Le Yucheng, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister exchanged views on international counterterrorism efforts and reached “broad consensus.”
The Unite States researchers and rights groups estimate that as many as 1 million ethnic Muslims may be arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang, home to the Uighur and Kazakh minority groups.
Human Rights Watch said on Friday that the United Nations should have sent a human rights expert instead of a counterterrorism official.