Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the Chinese Government to end the use of re-education camps in Xinjiang in the context of protecting detainees from covid-19.

We regularly raise our serious concerns about the extra-judicial detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang with the Chinese authorities, and have repeatedly called on China to urgently end the practice of extra-judicial detention. Most recently, on 9 September during an adjournment debate in Parliament, I [Minister Adams] called on China to live up to its international human rights obligations and end the disproportionate and damaging policies in Xinjiang. On 28 July, the Foreign Secretary raised human rights violations in Xinjiang with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi.

The risk of the spread of COVID-19 in places of detention is a matter of concern around the world. The UK will continue to work closely with China on the COVID-19 pandemic.