China blocked this Thursday (06) at the UN Human Rights Council a debate on the situation of the Uighur minority, in the face of the publication of a United Nations report that confirms the serious violations against this population in the country.
A group of Western countries, led by the United States and Norway, presented to the Council a draft resolution of content, apparently modest, since it only claimed that, in the next session of this body – to be held in February and March 2023 -, there was discussion about the document.
China expressed its “deepest opposition” to that idea, and said the document “lacks any value”, a position that has been endorsed by several developing countries.
The result had 19 votes against the debate, 17 in favor, while 11 nations abstained.
“This is not a matter of procedure, but of substance. The United States and other countries want to place on the agenda of this Council a problem that does not exist in Xinjiang”, indicated the Chinese ambassador to the UN, Chen Xu, referring to the province where the Uighurs are seated.
According to the diplomat, the real intention of the initiative was to take advantage of the UN’s distances “to interfere in China’s internal affairs”.
“This is not in favor of human rights, but political manipulation. In Xinjiang there is not a human rights problem, but separatism and the fight against terrorism. Xianjiang has been hosting terrorist attacks for five years,” Chen said. Xu.
France, Finland, the Netherlands and other European countries considered that the findings presented in the report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights cannot be left unattended and that complaints must be analyzed.
The US indicated that the proposal offered “a neutral forum to discuss, and that China can present its point of view”.
The report on Xinjiang pointed out that some of the human rights violations against Uighurs were so serious that they could be considered crimes against humanity.
Several investigations indicate that up to 1 million members of this Muslim minority were confined in these regions for different periods, according to the Chinese government, to “deradicalize” them.
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