UN chief silent on Uighur plight in visit to China
Antonio Guterres did not mention the Uighur community during his speech at summit marking China’s Belt and Road initiative.
Human rights activists are unhappy about a visit to China by the head of the United Nations.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been accused of ignoring what activists say is the persecution of the Uighur Muslim minority.
Guterres is currently in Beijing for a summit marking China’s Belt and Road initiative, an ambitious global network of infrastructure and trading projects all linked to China, something that in itself is controversial.
He made a public speech in China, with no mention of the Uighur community in Xinjiang.
This was a glaring omission, according to human rights groups who claim that as many as one million Uighurs could be held in detention.
Al Jazeera’s James Bays reports.