The UN report could still become an issue in the Council.
The report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has not yet been discussed in the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
(dpa) Western countries have taken a beating against China at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. An attempt to force a debate on the UN High Commissioner’s report on human rights violations in the Chinese region of Xinjiang failed on Thursday.
Nineteen members of the Council voted against the motion, 17 in favor and 11 abstained. Germany was for it. When the result was announced, there was applause. China’s side included Venezuela, Cuba, Pakistan and Qatar.
Massive allegations against China in the first UN report
The High Commissariat witnessed signs of crimes against humanity in the Xinjiang region in late August. Uyghurs and members of other minorities and human rights organizations have been reporting for years that hundreds of thousands of people there have been put in re-education camps against their will, tortured in some cases and forced to do forced labour. The report is the first comprehensive UN document on the situation. It refers, among other things, to Chinese government documents.
“The extent of the arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of the Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim groups (…) could constitute international crimes, particularly crimes against humanity,” it said.
Volker Türk remains the only possibility for debate
The US, Norway and other countries wanted the report to be on the agenda at the next session of the UN Human Rights Council in spring 2023. It is also possible that the new High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, will present the report himself at the Human Rights Council. His predecessor, Michelle Bachelet, published it on August 31, just before midnight, when she left office. Türk will take office on October 17.
China rejects all allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang. China’s ambassador accused Western countries of wanting to discredit China with smear campaigns.
Tensions between the ruling Han Chinese and ethnic minorities have long existed in Xinjiang. Since the bloody riots in 2009 and terrorist attacks, the security forces have been cracking down. Above all, they accuse the Uyghurs of extremism and separatism. China has denied all allegations, pointing out that the region has not experienced a terrorist attack for five years and that everyone’s standard of living has improved.