More than 20 countries have written to top United Nations human rights officials condemning China's treatment of Uighur and other minorities in the western Xinjiang region, in a letter released Wednesday.

UN ambassadors from 22 states -- including Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Japan -- co-signed the text sent to the Human Rights Council president, Coly Seck, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet.

China is reportedly holding one million people, mostly ethnic Uighurs, in internment camps in Xinjiang.

Rights groups and former inmates describe them as "concentration camps" where mainly Muslim Uighurs and other minorities are being forcefully assimilated into China's majority ethnic Han society.

The letter expresses concern "about credible reports of arbitrary detention... as well as widespread surveillance and restrictions, particularly targeting Uighurs and other minorites in Xinjiang."

It calls on China to stop arbitrary detention and allow "freedom of movement of Uighurs and other Muslim and minority communities in Xinjiang."

The authors, who include ambassadors from across the EU as well as Switzerland, requested that the letter become an official document of the Human Rights Council, which ends its 41st session in Geneva on Friday.

Diplomats rarely send open letters to the 47-member council to criticise a country's record, but the move may have been the only available option to spotlight Xinjiang, with China likely having enough support to vote down a formal resolution.

Chinese officials describe the camps as voluntary "vocational education centres" where Turkic-speaking Uighurs receive job training.

Beijing has said the centres are necessary to steer people away from religious extremism, terrorism and separatism.

Slovak president raps China over 'deteriorating' human rights
Bratislava (AFP) July 10, 2019 - Slovakia's new president on Wednesday rapped China over its detention of human rights activists and treatment of ethnic minorities.

Zuzana Caputova, an environmental lawyer who won the March presidential election, made the comments on her official Facebook page following talks with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

"I have expressed, in line with the European Union's common position, concerns about the deteriorating human rights situation in China and the detention of lawyers and human rights activists, as well as about the position of ethnic and religious minorities," Caputova said.

Having put environmental protection high on her agenda, Caputova also said she "appreciated China's approach to reducing emissions" after speaking with Wang about how to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis.

Wang also met with Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, who underscored Bratislava's interest in boosting food exports to China.

Poland's foreign minister on Monday urged Beijing to invest more in central Europe and to drop tariff barriers as Wang, who is currently visiting several eastern EU states, sought assurances that Warsaw would consider Beijing's controversial 5G wireless network technology.

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