UN rights body abandons Uyghurs, votes not to discuss China's abuse

New Delhi, Oct 12: The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) rejected the bid by the US and European countries to debate rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China.

 

Last week, the UN's top human rights body voted down a proposal from western countries including the US and Britain to hold a debate on alleged rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China's western Xinjiang region.

 

 

The motion to debate was based on a report released this August by the UN High Commission, which said that the violations have taken place in the context of the Chinese Government's assertion that it is targeting terrorists among the Uyghur minority with a counter-extremism strategy that involves the use of a so-called Vocational Educational and Training Centres (VETCs), or re-education camps.

 

 

Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates Cuba and Venezuela were among a total of 19 countries that voted against the motion to discuss the report. Apparently, these countries don't want to offend China or are on the hook as part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative.

 

Earlier, in August, the UN High Commission released a report which said that the violations have taken place in the context of the Chinese Government's assertion that it is targeting terrorists among the Uyghur minority with a counter-extremism strategy that involves the use of a so-called Vocational Educational and Training Centres (VETCs), or re-education camps.

 

Notably, the UN's assessment comes at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping is poised to break with tradition by taking on a third term.