It’s called throwing a bomb before running away.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
On August 31, just 13 minutes before the end of her term as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet released a four-year-awaited report on the fate of the Uyghur minority in China.
PHOTO PIERRE ALBOUY, REUTERS
Michelle Bachelet completed her four-year term as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 1er september.
A final gesture of brilliance before handing over the keys to the Palais Wilson, the prestigious Geneva office of the High Commission since 1998.
But four years to report a situation, when there are allegations of genocide on the part of Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, is a long time, extremely long.
So what does this famous report say? Basically, what we already knew and which had been documented by human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, years ago.
Without giving precise figures, the UN document claims that a large number of Uyghurs and members of other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities living in Xinjiang province were detained in an arbitrary and discriminatory manner in highly secure facilities between 2017 and 2019. And that the extent of this detention “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity”.
The report also finds the allegations of torture and sexual violence in internment facilities to be “credible”.
In the 45 pages of the document, there is no question of genocide, therefore, but the vocabulary used is not completely diluted by diplomatic correctness either.
It is a snub to China, which rejects the accusations out of hand. And this snub bears the seal of the United Nations. It is also a change of course, since the international organization has remained discreet for too long in this matter.
Why did Michelle Bachelet wait until the last minute to make this document public? This is the multi-billion Chinese yuan question. Behind the scenes, people who closely followed the drafting of the report claim that it has been ready for more than a year.
In the defense of the high commissioner, the latter was authorized to visit China only last March.
At the end of this visit, Mr.me Bachelet remained very cautious, saying she was not in the country to investigate, but to open a dialogue with the Chinese authorities. His restraint on his return from the mission prompted 47 countries to send him a joint letter, asking him for more details on his observations, as well as the limits imposed on him by China.
What Michelle Bachelet called “extreme pressure” didn’t just come from one side. China did not go with dead hands by asserting that the allegations against it in the Uyghur file were the “lie of the century” and a fabrication by Western countries to harm its development.
Countries close to the Middle Kingdom, including Cuba and Venezuela, also contacted Mr.me Bachelet to ask him not to publish his report.
Less than a week ago, at her last press conference before stepping down, the high commissioner still seemed torn, unable to say whether she intended to release the report before leaving. At the end of a single term.
The post of High Commissioner for Human Rights has never been an easy sea to navigate. It requires as much courage as diplomatic skill and rarely allows its holder to win a popularity contest.
Talk to Quebecer Louise Arbour, who occupied it from 2004 to 2008. Because she criticized Israel’s practices (along with those of Hezbollah) in the wake of the 2006 war in Lebanon, she was snubbed by her own government, then led by Stephen Harper.
Its predecessors and successors have all had their fair share of criticism and attacks, sometimes from friendly countries.
Appointed by the member countries of the United Nations General Assembly, the High Commissioner, who should by definition be above the fray, cannot completely ignore the games of influence that take place in the corridors of the Nations. united. And in these corridors, China – which has become one of the main donors of the international organization – leads more and more.
By publishing her report before slamming the door, Michelle Bachelet has somehow defended the integrity of the position she has just left. However, she will no longer be in Geneva to provide after-sales service. To hound China.
If his successor – not yet named – does not catch him on the fly, his last minute bomb could unfortunately turn into a wet firecracker.