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"The mandatory databanking of a whole population's biodata, including DNA, is a gross violation of international human rights norms," Sophie Richardson, China director for HRW, said in a statement.
The Ministry of Public Security and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Data collection
"Regulating the management of identification cards is the foundation to creating a basic population database, based on one's ID numbers, for the autonomous region," the government document said.
Officials are instructed to "ensure that the hukou information for everyone in every household, in every village is completely verified in Xinjiang. No one is to be missed."
Xinjiang is home to an estimated 21.8 million people according to 2010 census figures, though the true population could be much higher, owing to the number of migrant workers attracted to the region for work.
According to the HRW report, the regulations went into effect in February and have been being rolled out across Xinjiang throughout the year. While part of the scheme is designed to improve access to healthcare, DNA and blood type data is to be provided to the police "for profiling," the guidelines said.
Discrimination and surveillance
Xinjiang, a sparse predominately rural territory that accounts for almost one-sixth of China's land mass, is home to many minority ethnic groups, though HRW's Richardson said the program will have a particular effect on Uyghurs, the mostly Muslim ethnic group who make up around 40% of the total population.
"China has few meaningful privacy protections and Uyghurs are already subjected to extensive degrees of control and surveillance, including heavy security presence, numerous checkpoints, and routine inspection of smartphones for 'subversive' content," she said.
"In this context, compulsory biodata collection has particularly abusive potential, and hardly seems justifiable as a security measure."
Beijing has consistently denied accusations of ethnic or religious discrimination in Xinjiang.
Privacy concerns
Nor will the collection of this data necessarily help the authorities' stated goals of reducing crime and religious extremism, according to Richardson.
"Chinese authorities seem to think they can achieve 'social stability' by placing people under a microscope, but these abusive programs are more likely to deepen hostility towards the government," she said.