Malaysia abstains in UN vote on China's Muslim Uyghurs

 

The 47-member UN Human Rights Council has rejected a motion to hold a debate on alleged human rights abuses by China against Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang in an unprecedented victory for Beijing.

The vote - 19 against, 17 in favour, and 11 abstentions, including Malaysia - is only the second time in the council's 16-year history that a motion has been rejected.

The Western-led motion had demanded a debate on the alleged rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China's western Xinjiang region. Co-sponsors for the motion are UK, Turkey, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Australia and Lithuania.

Nations voting against the motion were Bolivia, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Gabon, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Mauritania, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Qatar, Senegal, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.

Other abstaining countries were Argentina, Armenia, Benin, Brazil, Gambia, India, Libya, Malawi, Mexico and Ukraine.

Calls for the debate on the Xinjiang situation followed the release of outgoing UN's report which alleged that "arbitrary and discriminatory detention" of Uyghurs and other Muslims in the country's Xinjiang region may constitute crimes against humanity.

According to Germany's DW, many states are unwilling to criticise China because of its economic clout and its position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Washington DC-based The Diplomat noted that had the vote been passed, it would have been the first time that the council discussed China's human rights record.

The bill was mild - it called for a debate with no consistent monitoring mechanism nor did it call for the creation of an investigation team or the appointment of a special rapporteur.

The Diplomat also noted that Somalia was the only member state of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to support the bill.

‘This is a disaster’

According to Reuters, the defeat is seen by observers as a setback to accountability efforts, the West's moral authority on human rights as well as the credibility of the United Nations itself.

"This is a disaster. This is really disappointing," said Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress, whose mother died in a camp and whose two brothers are missing.

"We will never give up but we are really disappointed by the reaction of Muslim countries," he was quoted by Reuters.

Reuters reported that China's envoy had warned before the vote that the motion would create a precedent for examining other countries' human rights records.

"Today China is targeted. Tomorrow any other developing country will be targeted," said Chen Xu, adding that a debate would lead to "new confrontations".

The UN rights office on Aug 31 released a long-delayed report that found serious human rights violations in Xinjiang that may constitute crimes against humanity, ramping up pressure on China.

Rights groups accuse Beijing of abuses against Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority that numbers around 10 million in the western region of Xinjiang, including the mass use of forced labour in internment camps.

The United States has accused China of genocide. Beijing vigorously denies any abuses.

‘Enormous pressure’

The motion is the first time that the rights record of China, a powerful permanent Security Council member, has been on the council's agenda. The item has stoked divisions and a diplomat said states were under "enormous pressure" from Beijing to back China.

Security guards stand at the gates of what is officially known as a vocational skills education center in Huocheng County in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China

Countries like Britain, the United States and Germany, vowed to continue to work towards accountability despite Thursday's outcome.

But activists said the defeat of such a limited motion, which stopped short of seeking an investigation, would make it difficult to put it back on the agenda.

Universal Rights Group's Marc Limon said it was a "serious miscalculation", citing the timing which coincides with a Western-led motion for action on Russia.

"It's a serious blow for the credibility of the council and a clear victory for China," he said. "Many developing countries will see it as an adjustment away from Western predominance in the UN human rights system."

The event raised political dilemmas for many poor countries in the council who are loath to publicly defy China for fear of jeopardising investment. Others probably wanted to avoid future scrutiny themselves. - Mkini