China is trying to stop the UN from releasing their report on Xinjiang
Xinjiang – China has asked the United Nations human rights chief to bury the highly anticipated report on Xinjiang. This is according to a Chinese letter seen by Reuters and confirmed by three diplomats.
China’s activities in the Xinjiang region have always been criticised by human rights groups. They accuse Beijing of committing human rights violations against the Uyghur inhabitants. These include using them as forced labour in internment camps, forced sterilisation and torturing them amongst others.
The reason China does not want the report to be released
China has always prided itself on being looked at as neat and cleaned. Should this report come out, it could damage that clean image it maintains. Koen Stoop, European Union (EU) Policy Coordinator at World Uyghur Congress based in Germany believes this report will confirm the allegations and accusations levelled against them are true.
“Of course, China tries in all of its power to prevent this from coming out because it will put China in this very bad daylight. It will show that what China is saying it does in the region is actually false. It’s actually an instance of severe human rights violations and has nothing to do with counterterrorism or poverty alleviation as the Chinese government hold. I think the report has the capacity to really show what is going on in the region.”
The view the EU have of China
The EU have also changed how they view China. It was only last month they adopted a resolution in which it recognised that what China’s is doing to Uyghurs amounts to crimes against humanity, said Stoop. Although that is a start, firm action is now needed from the EU.
“Over the past four years the European Union has consistently spoken out against the human rights abuses against Uyghurs. However, what is necessary now is concrete action.”
This action can only take place after the EU no longer depends on China in economic terms. This is the next step they must take, explained Stoop.
“We see the European Union taking these steps and reconsidering their relations with China … It’s also realising now that its dependencies on China, mainly economically, in the long term might very well harm the EU’s own interests. Especially if the EU wants to keep calling out what is happening in the Uyghur region. Taking a strong stance against China. The EU needs to be better prepared for taking autonomous measures against these kinds of instances of human rights violations.”
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The kind of power China have within the UN
China holds a lot of power within the EU which they use to try and silence any criticism of human rights violations against the Uyghurs, said Stoop.
“For instance, in many human rights council sessions there are statements made by countries that express concern about what is happening to Uyghurs. In response China tries to lead counter statements showing support, not only by China itself, but also from other countries worldwide that China is actually doing the right thing.”
China has also tried to introduce several resolutions on human rights. These resolutions challenge our understanding of what human rights are, explained Stoop.
“We see that China has been doing this over the past few years and now with the report it’s very much in line with China’s behaviour at the United Nations trying to silence any criticism against what it’s doing to the Uyghurs. Trying to ensure that whatever the United Nations is publicly publishing is as weakly worded as possible.”
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The push to have the report released
The report was believed to be ready last December. There is a concern as to why it hasn’t been released yet. Many actors, the international community and human rights organisations have called for the report to be released, said Stoop.
“It’s impossible to understand why this report has been delayed in the first place because civil society, organisations, and governments have consistently called for this report to be released. It is an important report, it’s an independent investigation into what is happening in the Uyghur region. It might very well bring a big change to our international understanding of the situation.”
The current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is set to due to leave office on August 31. She has pledged to publish the report before she leaves. With pressure rising from the international community to release the report, time will tell if it does get released or if it is left to her successor to release it.
