UN human rights commissioner criticised over planned Xinjiang visit

Exclusive: Politicians accuse China of organising a Potemkin-style tour' for Michelle Bachelet

A group of 40 politicians from 18 countries have told the UN high commissioner for human rights that she risks causing lasting damage to the credibility of her office if she goes ahead with a visit to China's Xinjiang region next week.

Michelle Bachelet is scheduled to visit Kashgar and Urumqi in Xinjiang during her trip, which starts on Monday. Human rights organisations say China has forced an estimated 1 million or more people into internment camps and prisons in the region. The US and a number of other western countries have described China's treatment of the Uyghur minority living there as genocidal, a charge Beijing calls the lie of the century".