(TibetanReview.net, Jun20’26) – The top human rights officer of the United Nations on Jun 15 expressed “serious concern” on China’s recently adopted Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, saying it “could deepen existing restrictions on minority communities” and called for its repeal, said the Office of Tibet, Geneva, of the Central Tibetan Administration in a report posted on its Tibet.net website Jun 20. However, the audio-visual extracts of his speech posted on his official website, https://media.un.org/unifeed/en/asset/d358/d3587919, does not contain any mention of any portion this part of his remarks.
The occasion was Mr Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, presenting his Global Update on the human rights situation across the world on the opening of the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The report did quote Türk as saying, “an unprecedented, shameless onslaught against international law is causing appalling human suffering. We must call it out, every time and everywhere, and work to contain and end it.”
But the posted extracts of his speech does not mention the situation in China, Tibet, Xinjang and so forth, or the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress affecting them stated to have been dwelled on by the UN rights chief.
According to the Tibet.net report, Türk expressed serious concern over China’s recently adopted Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, warning that the legislation could deepen existing restrictions on minority communities.
“I am very concerned about China’s counterterrorism and assimilation policies, particularly as they affect minorities in the Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Tibetan regions,” it quoted him as saying.
It further cited the top UN human rights officer as saying the law risks further limiting freedoms related to language, education, religious practice, cultural expression, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
He was stated to have warned that broadly worded provisions could penalise the peaceful exercise of minority rights.
Türk called on Chinese authorities to repeal the legislation and end policies that undermine the rights of ethnic minorities, the report said.
But the extracts of the speech posted on his official website make no mention whatsoever of any of the above stated remarks of Mr Türk. The “Download script” of his speech also does not mention any of them when remarking on the portions of his speech not included in the extracts.
The Tibet.net report said the UN human rights chief’s concerns echoed those raised by several United Nations independent experts and human rights organisations, who have argued that the law could institutionalise assimilation policies and reduce protections for the cultural, linguistic and religious identities of minority communities, including Tibetans, Uyghurs and Mongolians.
The legislation, adopted by China’s National People’s Congress in Mar 2026 and scheduled to take effect on Jul 1, 2026, claims to be aimed at strengthening national cohesion and promoting a unified national identity.
The report cited Chinese authorities as maintaining that the law is intended to foster social stability, national unity and economic development. On the other hand, it cited critics as arguing that the legislation formalises long-standing policies promoting the use of Mandarin in education and public life while diminishing space for minority languages, traditions and religious practices.