<span style="color: #222222;">United Nations Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet has said that China is restricting basic civil and political freedoms in the name of national security and COVID-19 measures.<br />'' <br />'' Bachelet told the Human Rights Council that activists, lawyers and human rights defenders as well as some foreign nationals face arbitrary criminal charges, detention or unfair trials in China.<br />'' <br />'' Referring to China's Xinjiang region, Bachelet cited the reports about arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, sexual violence and forced labour.<br />'' <br />'' She added that there was a need for a thorough and independent assessment of the situation. Bachelet said, she hoped to clinch agreement with Chinese officials about a visit to the country.<br />'' <br />''<br />''Activists and U.N. experts have said that at least one million Muslim Uighurs are detained in camps in the western region of Xinjiang.</span><br />