UN chief tells China to uphold rights in Xinjiang

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres raised the plight of ethnic Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang region during talks with Chinese leaders and stressed that China must fully respect human rights, his spokesman said Monday.

Guterres faced calls to speak out on human rights during his visit to Beijing where he attended a summit on Saturday of China's prized Belt and Road Initiative and held talks with President Xi Jinping.

The UN chief delivered a three-point message that stressed that human rights must be upheld in the fight against extremism, while recognizing China's sovereignty and condemning terrorism.

"Human rights must be fully respected in the fight against terrorism and in the prevention of violent extremism," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

"Each community must feel that its identity is respected and that if fully belongs to the nation as a whole." As many as one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are being held in internment camps in Xinjiang, ...