The UN rights council on Thursday rejected a Western-led motion to hold a debate about alleged human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region after a UN report found possible crimes against humanity against Uighurs and other Muslims.
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 both accountability efforts and the West’s moral authority.
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The United States, Canada and Britain were among the countries that called for the motion.
There was a rare burst of applause after the result was announced in the packed Geneva-based council room.
“This is a disaster. This is really disappointing,” said Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uighur Congress, whose mother died in a camp and whose two brothers are missing.
Qatar, Indonesia and Pakistan all rejected the motion.
China’s ambassador had warned shortly before the vote that the motion would create a “dangerous shortcut” for examining other countries’ human rights records.
The UN rights office on Aug 31 released a long-delayed report that found serious human rights violations had been committed in Xinjiang, in a move that has increased pressure on China.
Rights groups accuse Beijing of abuses against Uighurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority that numbers around 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.
Beijing vigorously denies any abuses and has said it is “ready for the fight” if action is taken against it. (REUTERS)
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