As reports of human rights violations against the Muslim Uyghur community flow out, 43 nations call upon China to respect rule of law
Human rights violations against the Muslim Uyghur community have been going on in full force in China for long. The situation has reached a point where these incidents of human rights violations have become a reason for worry among the global community.
With such a situation beginning to prove to be a matter of global concern, as many as 43 nations at the United Nations have called upon China to exercise respect for the rule of law by halting the violations meted out to the Uyghur community.
In a joint statement that was read out at the UN by the representative of France, the countries urged China to allow meaningful and uninterrupted access to independent observers so that they could travel to Xinjiang. The statement said that the independent observers would include the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Uyghurs in Xinjiang bear the brunt of human rights violations
The move comes after reports of human rights violations happening in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Stating that the reports were found to be credible, the countries said in their joint statement that a large network of political re-education camps have been set up in China and these camps housed more than a million people who have been arbitrarily detained.
A report pointed out that the joint statement has mentioned that there have been instances of torture, degrading treatment, forced sterilization, sexual and gender-based violence and forced separation of children in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The statement called out to the world that Uyghurs and members of other minorities were the prime targets of those perpetrating human rights violence. The joint statement was signed by the United States, European countries, Asian states and a few others.
All lies, says China
Meanwhile, China has dismissed the reports calling them all lies. Zhang Jun, China’s ambassador to the United Nations, has been quoted as saying that the stated that all accusations that were being said about in the context of the Uyghurs were false and that they were all a conspiracy to hurt China.
In support of his argument, ambassador Jun said that Xinjiang is a developing region and the people there would be proud that such progress is happening around them. Significantly, China also found a friend in Cuba, when that nation said it was against any interference in China’s internal affairs.
Feature Image: By Elvert Barnes – https://www.flickr.com/photos/perspective/21654720758/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=97622364
