UN Statement Released by 15 Nations Condemning Beijing’s ‘International Crimes’ Against Uyghurs and Tibetans
Australia has taken the lead among countries that signed a statement at the UN expressing ongoing concerns about serious human rights violations in China.
The statement, endorsed by Australia’s ambassador to the United Nations, James Larsen, calls on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to ensure human rights are upheld in Xinjiang and Tibet.
Fifteen countries, including Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, joined in making this declaration.
The statement highlights various negative findings from different bodies, such as a report from the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights two years ago, which found serious human rights violations in Xinjiang and suggested that the detention of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities could amount to international crimes like crimes against humanity.
Additionally, four other U.N. bodies have made similar disturbing findings.
The countries express concern that the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and over 20 special procedure mandate holders have raised alarms about systemic human rights violations in Xinjiang, including arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances.
Special procedures, also known as special rapporteurs, are independent human rights experts assigned to investigate, report on, and advise the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Larsen references reports that heavily rely on China’s records, detailing severe human rights violations in Xinjiang like arbitrary detention, family separation, forced labor, surveillance based on religion and ethnicity, restrictions on cultural and religious rights, torture, and destruction of cultural sites.
In Tibet, U.N. human rights bodies and special rapporteurs have documented detentions of Tibetans for expressing political views, travel restrictions, coercive labor, separation of children from families, and erosion of linguistic, cultural, educational, and religious rights.
Despite multiple opportunities, Beijing has dismissed these concerns, calling the High Commissioner for Human Rights assessment “illegal and void.”
The 15 countries urge the CCP to release all arbitrarily detained individuals in Xinjiang and Tibet, and to provide information on missing family members immediately.
They call on China to uphold its international human rights commitments and implement all U.N. recommendations, emphasizing the importance of transparency and allowing independent observers, including from the U.N., to assess the human rights situation in Xinjiang and Tibet.
The statement concludes by asserting that while no country has a flawless human rights record, all nations are accountable for meeting their human rights obligations with fairness and transparency.
