UN committee urges China to release people held in detention facilities in Xinjiang region

A United Nations committee has urged China to release people held in detention facilities in its Xinjiang region and recommended that it provide victims with "remedies and reparation". The committee's statement adds to pressure on China to enact reforms following a report from the global body's human rights chief in August. Chinese spokesperson at the diplomatic mission in Geneva, Liu Yuyin, said Beijing firmly opposes the UN committee's move.

The 18-member committee regularly monitors countries' compliance



with a 1965 international convention on racial discrimination, which China and some 180 other countries are party to. The committee said the lack of improvement in the human rights situation in Xinjiang spurred it to adopt the recommendations, known as a decision.

The document also called for China to undertake a full review of its legal framework governing national security, counter terrorism and minority rights in Xinjiang to ensure compliance with the convention.