UK's Raab Calls on China to Allow UN to Xinjiang After Beijing Sanctions British Officials

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Friday called on the Chinese government to allow United Nations human rights officials to visit Xinjiang after Beijing imposed reciprocal sanctions on nine UK citizens and four entities over the situation in the western Chinese region.

"It speaks volumes that, while the UK joins the international community in sanctioning those responsible for human rights abuses, the Chinese government sanctions its critics. If Beijing want to credibly rebut claims of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, it should allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights full access to verify the truth", Raab said in a statement.

A member of staff stands behind flags as officials arrive for the UK-China High Level Financial Services Roundtable at the Bank of China head office building in Beijing on July 22, 2016

© AFP 2023 / DAMIR SAGOLJ

On Monday, the United Kingdom, European Union, United States, and Canada imposed sanctions on Chinese officials over alleged human rights violations in the Xinjiang region.

China responded by issuing sanctions against 10 EU officials on Monday, and five UK members of parliament, two members of the House of Lords, an academic, a lawyer, and four UK entities were hit with sanctions on Friday morning.