
Chinese leader Xi Jinping may hold enough sway to kill efforts to condemn China
Claims of possible “crimes against humanity” levelled against China are being weighed by the UN Human Rights Council. The Chinese government seems to be pushing and leveraging its efforts towards ensuring the UN does not act on the alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
The Human Rights Council (HRC) was expected to start an investigation into the matter on Monday. This will be the first time such a move is taken by the council after the UN report acknowledged abuses against Uyghur Muslims.
The abuses in Xinjiang which have been well document were made public in August 2022, the report from the UN was the first effort by the United Nations specifically on the reported abuses.
Countries in the West are pushing for a resolution which will condemn China. They are also calling for further and full investigations on the abuse of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
According to information emanating from Reuters on Sunday, Chine is doing everything within its means to ensure it defeats every effort aimed at the move to investigate the well documented abuse of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
China’s plans aim at ensuring the call for investigations and a resolution to condemn China does not materialize.
“The developing world will reject all anti-China initiatives initiated by Western countries,” China’s UN ambassador, Chen Xu, argued last week. “Any kind of anti-China effort is doomed to failure.”
The report from the UN Human Rights Council detailed that the discriminative detention of Uyghurs along with some Muslim ethnic groups in the western region of Xinjiang amounted to crimes against humanity. The report which was released by the HRC on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022 gives a detailed update on what transpired in China which has been condemned globally.
The HRC is an international organization and therefore its powers are limited, making it impossible for action to be taken against independent sovereign states like China. The role of the UN Human Rights Council is mainly to build consensus or push for the opening of investigations. This means it will take a lot of effort from other countries in the West and globally for further investigations to be carried out on the abuse of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, China.
The United States of America has already described the abuse of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, China as “genocide” while Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary has called for further action after the UN’s 31st August report was released.
“The United States welcomes … this important report, which describes authoritatively the abhorrent human rights treatment of the Uyghurs and other minority communities by the People’s Republic of China government,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at the time. “The report deepens our grave concern regarding the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity that China is perpetrating. Our position on the atrocities in Xinjiang has been clearly demonstrated with our words and in our actions.” The US indicated whiles stating its position on the matter.
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China while reacting to the UN HRC described its content as a mere fabrication. China has further stated that it is not in any way committing crimes against Uyghurs as was reported in the UN HRC report of 31st August 2022.