China’s detention of Uighurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang may amount to “crimes against humanity”, the United Nations human rights office said in a long-delayed report that was finally published late on Wednesday.
The report, released just minutes before the end of High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet's term, said the "extent of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of Uyghur and other predominately Muslim groups. may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity."
The 45-page report (PDF) called on Beijing to immediately release “all individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty,
clarify the whereabouts of those whose families have been unable to locate them and undertake a“full review”of its laws on domestic security and repeal all discriminatory laws.
The UN assessment comes four years after a committee of UN experts called attention to "credible reports" that more than 1 million Uyghur and other Muslim minority peoples were interned in extrajudicial camps in Xinjiang for "re-education" and indoctrination.
The report focuses on what it describes as "arbitrary detention and related patterns of abuse" within what China refers to as "vocational education and training centers" between 2017 and 2019.
China, which had opposed the report being released, responded to the report in a 131 page document -- nearly three times the length of the report itself -- in which it decried the findings as "based on the disinformation and lies fabricated by anti-China forces."
The Government of the United States as well as parliaments in the United Kingdom, Canada and France have since labelled China’s treatment of the Uighurs as “genocide”.
Mr. Ali Sabri Rahim, a Member of Parliament (MP) for Puttalam District whom an open warrant had been issued, attended a public ceremony at Al Aksha National School in Kalpitiya today (16) as the special guest of honor.
All Ceylon Makkal Congress MP Ali Sabri Raheem had been arrested by Kalpitiya police after he surrendered to the police today morning.
Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena has been sent on compulsory leave pending disciplinary investigation over his failure to prevent the Easter Sunday bombings.
The 22nd amendment to the constitution dealing with the term of the President has been gazetted by order of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Auspicious times widely followed by candidates keeping with traditions will be taken into consideration by the Election Commission in fixing the date and time for the conduct on the Presidential polls.
The Cabinet of Ministers has granted policy approval to change the wording “exceeding six years” in paragraph (b) of Article 83 of the Constitution to “exceeding five years” with reference to the President’s tenure.
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