43 countries criticize China at UN for Uyghurs’ repression
More than 40 mainly Western countries criticized China at a UN meeting for the reported torture and repression of Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, keeping a spotlight on the region where foreign governments and researchers say an estimated 1 million people or more have been confined in camps.
Cuba followed immediately with a statement on behalf of 62 countries saying what happens in Xinjiang is China's internal affair, and dismissing all allegations as based on "political motivation" and "disinformation."
China's UN Ambassador Zhang Jun spoke soon after, denouncing "the groundless accusations" and unfounded "lies" and accusing the United States and a few other unnamed signatories of the statement of poisoning the atmosphere of cooperation and "using human rights as a pretext for political maneuvering to provoke confrontation." He strongly defended the development of Xinjiang, saying the lives of its people are getting better by the day and "your plot to obstruct China's development is doomed to failure."
The rival statements spotlight tensions between
China and the West over human rights. Those tensions have escalated especially between the United States and China, and include other issues including responsibility for the COVID-19 pandemic, trade, and Beijing's actions in the South China Sea.
The 43 countries that signed on to the statement criticizing China, which was read by France's U.N. Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere at a meeting of the General Assembly's human rights committee, expressed particular concern at "credible-based reports" of the "reeducation camps" in Xinjiang.