International Desk: 50 countries have condemned China’s crimes against humanity in Xinjiang province. Meanwhile, the countries signed a statement last Monday calling on the United Nations to take urgent action against China’s human rights abuses against Uyghurs.
The statement, signed by most Western countries, read, “We are deeply concerned about the human rights situation in the People’s Republic of China, particularly the ongoing human rights violations against the Uyghurs and other major Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.” Before this, a vote was arranged in the UN Human Rights Council. Canada’s UN Ambassador Bob Rae read the statement at a meeting of the General Assembly’s Human Rights Committee.
Last August, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a much-anticipated report on human rights violations in China’s western Xinjiang region. China has committed serious human rights violations under its anti-terrorism and anti-extremism policies, the report said.
Countries call on China to fully implement the UN report’s recommendations and release all those deprived of liberty. The 50 signatories included the United States, Britain, Japan, France, Germany, Australia, Israel, Turkey, Guatemala and Somalia.
However, Beijing has denied all allegations of human rights violations. In early October, at the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, China avoided a discussion on the findings of the OHCHR report.
Last week, UN ambassadors, Uighur rights activists and UN special investigators met to follow up on the former high commissioner’s report. However, China expressed its strong opposition to the meeting and said it was boycotting such ‘anti-China’ meetings.
In its letter to UN member states, China also called the meeting a politically motivated event and misleading propaganda.
