Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, arrived in China at the end of May to begin a six-day trip, including a visit to Xinjiang, where the Human Rights office stated it believes ethnic Uyghurs are being unlawfully detained in labor camps.

However, China’s itinerary for the Commissioner’s trip raised concerns among human rights groups for its extreme oversight and lack of flexibility: Bachelet would not be allowed spontaneous meetings with anyone not pre-approved by the Chinese government. Chinese officials cited COVID as the reason for this limitation, aiming to keep Bachelet’s visit within a contained “bubble” to avoid unnecessary exposure.

The Chinese foreign ministry has rejected charges of political manipulation when asked by media if Bachelet would be visiting the re-education camps where the Uyghurs have been detained. Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin affirmed that “the purpose of the private visit is to enhance exchanges and cooperation between both sides and promote the international cause of human rights.” He added that the media would not travel with Bachelet, again citing concerns about the COVID pandemic. However, human rights groups such as the World Uyghur Congress spoke out against this policy, asking Bachelet to ensure her team could access detention facilities and have free, unsupervised contact with Uyghurs. Zumretay Arkin, a spokesperson for the Congress, stated that the body is “concerned the trip might do more harm than good,” suggesting that China could use the limited information it allowed Bachelet to glean for “propaganda purposes.”

The Chinese government’s thinly-veiled secrecy surrounding the visit is concerning. Facing international condemnation for their treatment of the Uyghurs, Chinese officials ought to show that they have nothing to hide and are seeking to set the record straight with this investigation. The fact that they instead have severely restricted contact and information from the Commissioner should be cause for suspicion, and international organizations like the U.N. should push harder for unrestricted access to complete a full investigation.

The United Nations reported in 2018 that 1 million Uyghurs were being held in “massive internment camps” for re-education and political indoctrination, sparking international outcry. China has since admitted the existence of “vocational training centers” for people to learn about Chinese law, language, and vocational skills, and states that the camps were created in opposition to terrorism, separatism, and religious radicalism in Xinjiang. However, reports of mistreatment and unlawful imprisonment have necessitated further investigation by international rights organizations.

One must be cautious about distrusting the U.N.H.R.C.’s findings, considering its standing as an impartial international institution. However, readers of the Commissioner’s report on China will likely need to take her findings with an unfortunate grain of salt due to the circumstances under which she conducted her investigation. By restricting and controlling the impression that Bachelet received of the Uyghurs’ situation, China hopes to shrug off international suspicion and portray innocence. But the international community must be vigilant in continuing to condemn China’s mistreatment of the Uyghurs and call for greater accountability.