UN body rejects China rights debate motion
|
The United Nations rights council has voted down a motion to hold a debate about alleged human rights abuses by China against Uighurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang as officials in Beijing seek to avoid further scrutiny.
The defeat – 19 against, 17 for, 11 abstentions – is only the second time in the council’s 16-year history that a motion has been rejected and is seen by observers as a setback to the moral authority of the US and its allies on human rights and the credibility of the UN itself.
The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom were among the countries that brought the motion.
“This is a disaster. This is really disappointing,” said Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress, whose mother died in a camp and whose two brothers are missing.
“We will never give up but we are really disappointed by the reaction of Muslim countries,” he added.
Qatar, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan rejected the motion, with the latter citing the risk of alienating China.
China’s envoy had warned before the vote that the motion would create a precedent for examining other countries’ human rights records.
“Today China is targeted. Tomorrow any other developing country will be targeted,” Chen Xu said, adding that a debate would lead to “new confrontations”.
The UN rights office on August 31 released a long-delayed report that concluded serious human rights violations in Xinjiang that may constitute crimes against humanity, ramping up pressure on China.
Rights groups accuse China of abuses against Uighurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority that numbers about 10 million in the western region of Xinjiang, including the mass use of forced labour in internment camps.
The United States has accused China of genocide.
China vigorously denies any abuses.
The motion is the first time that the rights record of China, a powerful permanent Security Council member, has been on the agenda of the council.
The item has stoked divisions and a diplomat said countries were under “enormous pressure” from China to reject it.
Countries like the UK, the United States and Germany vowed to continue to work towards accountability despite Thursday’s outcome.
But activists said the defeat of such a limited motion, which stopped short of seeking an investigation, would make it difficult to put it back on the agenda.
Universal Rights Group’s Marc Limon said it was a “terrible miscalculation”.
“It’s a serious blow for the credibility of the council and a clear victory for China,” he said.
“Many developing countries will see it as adjustment away from western predominance in the UN human rights system.”
The event raised political dilemmas for many poor countries in the 47-member council who are loath to publicly defy China for fear of jeapordising Chinese investment.
Others probably wanted to avoid future scrutiny themselves.
Reuters
