China in UN spotlight

TESTED: BEIJING LIKELY TO FACE SCRUNITY DURING RIGHTS RECORD CHECK

Focus will zoom in on alleged crimes against humanity.

Acivil liberties crackdown, repression in Xinjiang and Hong Kong’s draconian national security law are among concerns expected to be raised during a UN review of China’s rights record today.

Beijing is likely to face intense scrutiny, especially from Western countries, during its regular universal periodic review (UPR) – a rights record examination that all 193 UN member states must undergo every four to five years.

“It is very important to hold China to account,” a Western diplomat said.

The array of issues likely to be raised is vast, from alleged efforts to erase cultural identity in Tibet to the sweeping national security law imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 to quash dissent after pro-democracy protests.

Much focus is expected to remain on the situation in the northwestern Xinjiang region, where China is accused of incarcerating over a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.

Beijing vehemently rejects the charges, which were already put forward during its last UPR in 2018. Since then, more UN documentation has been provided, including a report released by UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet just minutes before her term ended in 2022.

That report, flatly rejected by China, highlighted “credible” allegations of widespread torture and arbitrary detention, citing possible “crimes against humanity”.

But amid intense Chinese pressure, UN Human Rights Council members narrowly voted in October 2022 against even debating the report’s contents.

“We haven’t seen a really substantive discussion about the report,” said Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s deputy director for China.

She and other rights advocates voiced hope the UPR could provide a chance for countries to back the findings and demand action from Beijing.

Sophie Richardson, the former China director at Human Rights Watch, said Beijing should face pointed questions on the “substantiated concerns about crimes against humanity”.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the death of activist Cao Shunli, who was detained as she attempted to travel to Geneva ahead of China’s 2013 UPR.

After being held for several months without charge, she fell gravely ill and died in March 2014.

Richardson urged the diplomats coming to the UPR to delve into such concerns.

A large Chinese delegation, headed by Beijing’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Chen Xu, will take part in the event and present its rights situation in a far more positive light.

“We uphold respect for and protection of human rights as a task of importance in state governance,” Yuyun Liu, spokesperson at the Chinese mission in Geneva, told AFP in an e-mail.

In a bid to control the narrative, Beijing has reportedly requested the UN ensure “anti-China separatists” are not granted access to the session, and that any “anti-China” slogans are kept out.

Observers also warn that China has been pressuring countries for positive feedback and working to ensure more critical nations have little time to speak.

China’s critics also accuse Beijing of pushing supporters to fill the allotted speaking time with praise, leaving little time for others to raise serious concerns.

In total, 163 states have registered to speak during the halfday session, leaving each country with just 45 seconds on the clock.

“The dilemma is how you use your 45 seconds,” the Western diplomat said.

“How do we encapsulate our concerns regarding China in 45 seconds?” –