Western countries press China on minority rights issues

• Western countries on Tuesday used a United Nations-backed review of China's human rights record to call for greater freedom of expression and protection for ethnic minorities.
• More than 160 countries participated in the discussion, and each country had a maximum of 45 seconds to speak.
• China's previous review in 2018 raised concerns about the treatment of Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Western countries on Tuesday used a regular U.N.-backed review of China's human rights record to recognize freedom of expression, protect the rights of ethnic minorities and repeal Hong Kong's security law, which has been ridiculed by independent activists. pressure on the Chinese government to do more to Others.

Chen Xu, China's ambassador to Geneva, led a delegation from around 20 Chinese ministries to the “universal periodic review” under the United Nations Human Rights Council. He highlighted China's progress in eradicating poverty, saying people were participating in “democratic elections” and freedom of religious belief was protected.

“China considers respecting and protecting human rights as an important mission in national governance,” Chen said through an interpreter. “We have embarked on a path of human rights development that is in line with the trends of the times and is appropriate to China's national conditions and the so-called historical achievements in this process.”

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“We uphold a human-centered philosophy and strive to provide a better life for all people,” he said.

Although this process encourages constructive recommendations rather than sharp criticism, it has nonetheless been replaced by harsh, if not scathing, advice against China from some major Western powers. Ta.

Canada's Leslie Norton called on China to end “all forms of enforced disappearances targeting human rights defenders, ethnic minorities, and Falun Gong practitioners” and called for the repeal of the Hong Kong Security Law.

Czech Ambassador Vaclav Barek warned China that “under the pretext of protecting national security, religious and peaceful protests by ethnic and religious groups, including Muslims, Uyghurs, Buddhists, Tibetans, and Mongolians, They called for an end to the criminalization of civil expression and an end to cross-border kidnapping and criminal activity. He threatened Chinese people living abroad. ”

Anita Pipan, the Slovenian ambassador in Geneva, recommended that China “establish a moratorium on the death penalty” in an effort to abolish the death penalty. U.S. Ambassador Michelle Taylor offered a list of concerns, concluding by “condemning the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, and the transnational repression that silences individuals abroad.”

Some independent organizations and the United States have accused China of genocide in Xinjiang, but the United Nations has not confirmed this. China slammed a 2022 report by the then UN human rights chief that cited possible crimes against humanity committed in the western region.

Kozo Motokiyo, Japan's deputy permanent representative in Geneva, called for better protection of the rights of ethnic minorities in Tibet and Xinjiang.

The hearing included a wide-ranging review of China's human rights situation. Bolivia's envoy praises China's efforts to reduce deforestation, and Burundi's representative calls on China to improve access to health care in the central region and better housing in Hong Kong and Macau. , Iran praised China's National Human Rights Action Plan.

Ilya Barmin, First Secretary of the Russian Diplomatic Mission, advised China to “continue to improve the understanding and ability of its people to use standard spoken and written Chinese in Xinjiang.” South African political affairs adviser Frankie Bronwen Levy called on China to strengthen its anti-government stance. -The Domestic Violence Act was passed eight years ago.

A huge number of countries, over 160, some critical of the Chinese government and some allies, have registered to participate in this discussion. That meant each country had a maximum of 45 seconds to speak, which for some ambassadors felt like an exercise in speed reading.

The Chinese delegation's total time was 70 minutes.

Under the Universal Periodic Review, all United Nations member states are subject to sometimes harsh scrutiny from other countries approximately every five years. The three-and-a-half hour discussion is designed to provide constructive criticism and produce a written report that provides recommendations rather than criticism.

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Several groups, including Falun Gong and pro-Tibetan activists, staged a small demonstration outside the UN Geneva compound during Tuesday's debate. Officials said about 100 activists from non-governmental organizations were either attending the meeting inside or observing it from a “spillover room'' inside the vast United Nations compound.

Several human rights groups had planned events outside China's review, with the Tibet Advocacy Coalition, World Uyghur Congress and Hong Kong human rights activists scheduled to hold a joint press conference after the proceedings.

Another advocacy group aims to oppose the forced repatriation from China of North Korean women who fled the country under the rule of leader Kim Jong Un.

On Monday, four independent human rights experts working on behalf of the council called for the release of former Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai, who is on trial for alleged national security violations, and for all charges against him to be released. He asked that the charges be dropped.

During China's previous review in 2018, the United States and other countries expressed concern about the treatment of Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang.