47 countries voice renewed concerns over alleged human rights abuses in China's Xinjiang province

China has faced long-running allegations over its treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority in the country. 47 countries recently voiced renewed concerns in the United Nations over the potential human rights abuses of the minority.

A joint statement by 47 countries in the United Nations released this week voiced renewed concerns over China’s treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minorities in its Xinjiang province. The countries also demanded that the UN’s human rights chief release the long-overdue report on the situation in the area.

The Dutch ambassador to the UN, Paul Bekkers, said the countries remain concerned with the human rights situation in Xinjiang. Bekkers cited several “credible reports” that suggest over one million Uyghur Muslims and other Muslim minorities were arbitrarily detained.

China has admitted that there are camps, but the camps are “vocational skills training centers” that are deemed necessary to address “extremism.”

“There are reports of ongoing widespread surveillance, discrimination against Uyghurs and other persons belonging to minorities,” said Bekkers.

The joint statement also addressed concerns about “reports of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, forced sterilization, sexual and gender-based violence, forced labor, and forced separation of children from their parents by authorities.”

Bekkers said the group is calling on China to address the concerns and end the arbitrary detention of minorities in Xinjiang. The group also called on Beijing to cooperate with the UN investigators and provide investigators with access to independently observe the situation on the ground.

This follows the visit of UN’s Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet to China after months of demanding access to Xinjiang. Bachelet came under fire for not taking a firmer approach in voicing concerns over the alleged human rights abuses during her visit.

Back in March, the US State Department imposed travel bans on Chinese officials over the allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

The agency announced that it was banning several officials over their involvement in “repressive acts” and its crackdown on freedoms of speech and religion in China and overseas.

The travel ban also adds to the visa restrictions imposed on Chinese officials under the administration of Donald Trump over the treatment of Uyghur Muslims and other minorities, as well as the repression of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and those advocating for freedom in Tibet.