Britain, the United States and several other countries on Tuesday criticized China’s human rights record as the country faces rare scrutiny of its policies at the United Nations.
The UK calls on China to “end the persecution and arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and Tibetans and allow them true freedom of religion, belief and cultural expression without fear of surveillance, torture, forced labor or sexual violence”. However, the United States said China should “liberate Uyghurs and Tibetans.” Target all arbitrarily detained individuals” and end the implementation of “forced assimilation policies, including residential schools in Tibet and Xinjiang.”
Britain also recommended that Hong Kong’s national security law be repealed, and in particular called for the prosecution of democracy activist Jimmy Lai to be dropped.
This recommendation was made as part of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review. The Universal Periodic Review is a mechanism by which the 193 United Nations member states review each other’s human rights records every five years.
Since 2018, countries have been given 45 seconds to make recommendations based on China’s human rights record at UN headquarters in Geneva. During that period, large-scale protests against the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) tightening grip in Hong Kong, increased international scrutiny of the human rights situation in Xinjiang, and activists from the US, UK and other countries They have been targeted by authorities, raising concerns about cross-border repression. Agent.
In response to the recommendation, China’s ambassador to the UN, Chen Xu, said the concerns were caused by “misunderstandings and misinformation.”
“Several countries have baselessly accused and slandered China based on ideological bias, baseless rumors and lies rather than facts,” Chen said.
Tuesday’s meeting was the first time China has gone through the review process since the release of the United Nations report on Xinjiang in August 2022. The long-delayed report, authored by outgoing human rights commissioner Michelle Bachelet, found that China had committed “serious humanitarian acts”. Violations of the Rights of Uyghurs in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.” The Chinese government described this as “disinformation.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, several countries addressed China’s policies in Xinjiang. The region, along with Tibet, has become synonymous with the Chinese government’s repressive human rights policies, particularly towards religious and ethnic minorities.
Human rights activists said the fact that several countries mentioned Tibet in this year’s review bucked the recent trend of the region not being talked about on the international stage.
Many small countries or those economically dependent on China praised China’s rights record, particularly its success in lifting tens of millions of people out of poverty since 2018.
Ethiopia said it “commends the improvements in China’s criminal procedure system,” while Iran said it “appreciates the economic programs implemented by the Chinese government aimed at promoting social, cultural and economic rights.”
Bhutan, a small landlocked country sandwiched between India and China that has recently strengthened its ties with Beijing, “congratulates Bhutan on making significant progress in poverty alleviation and achieving the 2030 Agenda’s poverty reduction targets ahead of schedule.” Stated.
After the UN conference, Sophie Richardson, former China director at Human Rights Watch, said: And that’s a problem.”
Zumretai Arkin, a spokesperson for the World Uyghur Congress, criticized Central Asian countries for not speaking out against abuses against Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, saying: “The countries that occupy the Uyghurs have betrayed the Uyghur people.”
We have asked the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.