NNA - The UN rights chief will begin her long-anticipated visit to China on Monday, her office said, including to the Xinjiang region where authorities stand accused of widespread violations.

After years of requesting “meaningful and unfettered” access to China’s far-western Xinjiang region, Michelle Bachelet will finally be heading there next week.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights “on Monday begins a six-day official mission to China, at the invitation of the government,” her office said in a statement Friday.

It is the first trip to China by a UN rights chief since 2005 and Bachelet will meet “a number of high-level officials at the national and local levels.”

“The high commissioner will also meet with civil society organizations, business representatives, academics, and deliver a lecture to students at Guangzhou University,” the statement added. --AFP

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