Secretary general says he expects Xi Jinping to allow ‘credible’ visit to troubled region during meeting on Winter Olympics sidelines
But at the opening ceremony, it chose a young Uyghur athlete, 20-year-old cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang, as one of the final Olympic torch-bearers – a move that had clear political overtones.
Activists and lawmakers have been eagerly awaiting a UN report on human rights in Xinjiang, and pressure had mounted for its release before the Beijing Games, but the world body said late last month it would not be forthcoming before the Olympics. Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post newspaper indicated that Beijing had relented and agreed to a visit to Xinjiang by Bachelet – hinting that, in exchange, it expected her office to hold off publishing the report.
At the meeting with Xi, Guterres “expressed the wish for enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and the People’s Republic of China in all the pillars of the Organisation’s work – peace and security, sustainable development, including climate change and biodiversity, and human rights,” the UN statement said.
On climate change, the UN chief “recognized the important efforts China is making to address climate change but reiterated the appeal for additional efforts to accelerate the transition to the green economy to bridge the emissions gap”.
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