New York: Diplomats and human rights advocates warned on Monday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that the way the organization handles the persecution of China's ethnic minorities will determine how the organization is perceived. He called for strict action after a report on the possibility of a "crime against humanity".
In the far western region of Xinjiang, where China has been accused of carrying out a brutal campaign of torture, sexual assault and ethnic cleansing, rights watchdogs and journalists have for years exposed the brutal treatment of Uighurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups.
Although these allegations were previously widely accepted in the West, a landmark report released last month by the UN Human Rights Office gave them new credence.
As world leaders arrived in New York, the UN Special Envoy on Minority Rights Fernand de Varennes declared at a forum organized by the Atlantic Council and Human Rights Watch that "inaction is no longer possible." "What kind of message is being spread if we leave it unpunished?"
A deputy US ambassador to the United Nations, Jeffrey Prescott, suggested that the UN's response to China jeopardized the organisation's credibility.
He said that the credibility of that system, as well as the credibility of our international system, ultimately determines how these atrocities are dealt with. The UN Secretary-General said, "It is extremely disheartening to see a country that has played such an important role in the development of the modern United Nations system and enjoys its status as a permanent member of the Security Council, therefore violating its commitments." Is."
In the final moments of Michelle Bachelet's final day as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights—now a UN report on the alleged abuses of ex-China—was made public. It was thought that there was a long delay in its release. Time was never explained by Bachelet.
China reacted angrily to its publication, calling it "a patchwork of false information" and claiming it was concocted by Western countries. It reacted deeply and vowed to stop working with the UN Human Rights Office; As a result, Chinese diplomats are now attempting to influence others to prevent further investigation into their country's Xinjiang campaign.
According to Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, Rob Rowe, China's response was not unexpected, and required new action. He said, “We have to address this issue. Whether additional punishment will be required is to be looked into. The issue needs to be addressed, what additional action can be taken given the gravity of this crisis, " They said.
The UN report was partly based on interviews with more than twenty former prisoners and people with knowledge of the conditions of eight detention facilities, who reported being beaten, prevented from praying, and forced to perform sexual acts on guards. Was.
However, it omitted the term "genocide", which the United States and other countries have accused China of and which evidence may refer to as a "crime against humanity".
Bachelet's immediate predecessor as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, praised Bachelet for publishing the report, but criticized it for failing to refer to the abuse as a genocide. He also criticized it for not recommending the formation of an official UN Commission of Inquiry.
"Silence is collusion," he declared. Uighur attorney Rehan Asat, whose brother is a prisoner in Xinjiang and works for the Atlantic Council, called on the international community to act not only against China but also against businesses that profit from its abuse.
Because it is ultimately state violence, he argued that we should not exonerate the Chinese government by normalizing what the state did.
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