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A26 u.s. news
Diabierna 7 OctOber 2022

UN rights body rejects Western bid to debate Xinjiang abuses

(AP) — In a close diplo- bassador, said the request for
matic victory for China, the debate aimed simply to
the U.N.'s top human "provide neutral forum for
rights body on Thursday discussion."
voted down a proposal
from Britain, Turkey, the "No country represented
United States and other here today has a perfect hu-
mostly Western countries man rights record," she said.
to hold a debate on al- "No country, no matter how
leged rights abuses against powerful, should be exclud-
Muslim Uyghurs and oth- ed from council discussions.
er ethnic minorities in This includes my country —
China's western Xinjiang the United States — and it
region. includes the People's Repub-
lic of China."
At the 47-member state Hu-
man Rights Council, 17 Human rights groups have
countries voted in favor, accused China of sweeping a
19 were against, and 11 ab- million or more people from
stained in a vote to hold a the minority groups into de-
debate on Xinjiang at its next tention camps where many
session in March. The vote have said they were tortured,
amounted to a test of politi- sexually assaulted, and forced
cal and diplomatic clout be- to abandon their language
tween the West and Beijing, and religion. The camps were
and would have marked the part of what the rights groups
first time that China's record have called a ruthless cam-
on human rights would merit paign against extremism in
a specific agenda item at the Xinjiang that included dra-
council. conian birth control policies
and restrictions on people's
The result, prompting a movement.
smattering of applause in the
chamber, followed days of Some leading human rights
diplomatic arm-twisting in advocacy groups expressed
Geneva and in many national disappointment, but vowed
capitals as leading Western to keep working for victims
countries tried to build mo- and the United Arab Emir- Isa, president of the World — a powerful country with of abuses against Uyghurs
mentum on a report from ates. Somalia was the only Uyghur Congress, said in a a permanent seat on the Se- and others in Xinjiang.
former U.N. human rights African country, and only statement. "The international curity Council — has never
chief Michelle Bachelet's of- member state of the Orga- community cannot fail the been the subject of a coun- "Today's vote protects the
fice, released Aug. 31, which nization of Islamic Coopera- victims of the Uyghur geno- try-specific resolution at the perpetrators of human rights
found that possible "crimes tion, to vote "yes." Turkey is cide." council since it was founded violations rather than the vic-
against humanity" had oc- in the OIC, but doesn't have more than 16 years ago. tims — a dismaying result
curred in Xinjiang. a council seat right now. Ar- The U.N. rights office's re- that puts the U.N.'s main
gentina, Brazil, India, Ma- port stopped short of refer- The proposal was for just to human rights body in the far-
A simple majority of voting laysia, Mexico and Ukraine ring to abuses against Uy- hold a debate, with no consis- cical position of ignoring the
countries was required. were among countries that ghurs as genocide, but some tent monitoring of the rights findings of the U.N.'s own
abstained. Western countries have. situation, and amounted just human rights office," said
China locked down "no" "This is a missed opportunity about the least intrusive form Amnesty International Sec-
votes among its usual allies, by council members to hold The make-up of the council of scrutiny that the council retary-General Agnes Calla-
plus many African countries China to the same standard rotates among U.N. member could seek. mard.
and Persian Gulf states Qatar as other countries," Dolkun states each year, and China
The call stopped short of cre- "Thirty member states' si-
ating a team of investigators lence — or worse, blocking
to look into possible crimes of debate — in the face of the
in Xinjiang, or appointing a atrocities committed by the
special rapporteur — a tacit Chinese government further
acknowledgement by the sullies the reputation of the
Western countries that going Human Rights Council," she
after increasingly influential added.
China would be a tall order.
On Friday, as part of dozens
Before the vote, Chinese of proposals before the coun-
ambassador Chen Xu said cil, member states are also to
Beijing "firmly opposes and consider a proposal from 26
categorically rejects" the pro- European Union countries
posal. He accused Western to appoint a "special rap-
countries of seeking to turn porteur" on Russia, citing
a "blind eye" to their own is- a string of concerns about
sues on human rights and mass arrests and detentions;
point a finger at others. He harassment of journalists,
insisted that China never opposition politicians, activ-
gave its support to Bachelet's ists and rights defenders; and
report, and warned of a bad crackdowns — at times vio-
precedent. lent — on protesters against
President Vladimir Putin's
Michele Taylor, the U.S. am- war in Ukraine.