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Switzerland wants greater human rights effort from China

Person vacuums red carpet next to Chinese and Swiss flags
Switzerland believes China still has work to do to clean up its human rights record. © Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

Switzerland has challenged China to improve its human rights record. Addressing the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland called, in particular, for investigations into the extent of arbitrary detentions that could constitute "crimes against humanity" in Xinjiang. 

On Tuesday, China was heard for the first time since the end of 2018 on human rights by all the UN member states.

+  What you need to know about Swiss-China relations

A week after Premier Li Qiang’s visit to Bern, a representative of the Swiss mission to the UN called on Beijing to implement the recommendations in the report on Xinjiang by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. 

More than a million Uighurs are said to be interned in camps. Beijing talks of re-educating terrorists. Li Qiang, who was given a welcome normally reserved for heads of state in Bern, is considered responsible for this policy. 

On Tuesday, Switzerland also called for the Hong Kong National Security Act to be brought into line with international law. Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis is due to visit China in February. 

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