Landslide support for HK law at UNHRC

A total of 53 countries supported China’s national security law for Hong Kong at the 44th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Tuesday, triumphing over 27 members that attacked and called for harsh measures against China over issues involving Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.

The landslide victory was seen by experts as showing that China’s achievements in human rights have won more supporters and become known by wider audiences. The double standards of some Western countries that tried to politicize the UNHRC and to use human rights-related issues as weapons to attack China, brought themselves more criticism within the international community.

On behalf of 53 countries, Cuba made a joint statement in Geneva on Tuesday, expressing support for China’s passing the national security law for Hong Kong.

The representative from Cuba said that not interfering with a sovereign state’s internal affairs is the basic principle of the UN Charter and the international order. The National Security Law for Hong Kong is China’s legitimate power. This is not a question about human rights and it should not be discussed at the human rights council.

Meanwhile, UK’s Ambassador to the WTO and UN in Geneva Julian Braithwaite delivered a cross-regional joint statement on behalf of 27 countries at the session.

Western countries now see the UNHRC as a platform to serve their own political purposes, and although the US has withdrawn from the council, it still has strong influence over many members, thus its allies are trying to speak for the US on the UNHRC, said Zhu Ying, a professor of international law at Southwest University of Political Science and Law.

Their indulgence and double standards toward Western countries, especially the US, have blinded the world about its negligence toward its own human rights problems, analysts said.