The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination [official website] urged the Chinese government on Thursday to release the Muslim minorities known as Uighurs from involuntary detention.

The Committee put forth a report [text, PDF] estimating up to one million Uighurs could be held in detention centers.

The report found that members of the Uighur ethnic group were allegedly confined without having any formal charges brought or trials and tortured, all justified as “countering terrorism and extremism.” The report acknowledged that the ruling government party denied these claims. The committee was not able to obtain official data on the numbers of people in long-term detention but was able to amass reports of increased surveillance measures aimed at Uighurs and other invasive procedures such as mandatory collection of DNA samples, iris scans and other personal data. The committee also compiled reports of Uighurs outside of the country being returned involuntarily.

The committee recommended several courses of action for the ruling party including halting the illegal detention, releasing individuals currently illegally detained, investigating ethnic and racial profiling, eliminating travel restrictions affecting minority populations, and providing data on the individuals kept in detention centers including the living conditions, rights, and the content of any training or political exercises.

Al Jazeera discussed the Uighur detention in an interview [Al Jazeera Youtube video] with international experts from Hong Kong, the UK and Germany analyzing the situation.