Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of proposals to establish a monitoring mechanism for human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang under the UN (a) Human Rights Council and (b) General Assembly.

The UK has played a leading role at the Human Rights Council, and in the UN Third Committee to call for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to be allowed meaningful access to Xinjiang. The UK is the only country to have led formal joint statements on Xinjiang in relevant UN fora, including on the issue of UN access. On 30 June, the UK read out a formal statement on behalf of 28 countries at the 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council, and on 29 October 2019, the UK read out a statement on Xinjiang on behalf of 23 countries at the UN Third Committee in New York. We will continue to work with international partners at the UN to maximise pressure on the Chinese Government over its egregious human rights violations against Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang.