March 29, 2024

Exclusive China urges UN countries not to attend Xinjiang event next week

Exclusive China urges UN countries not to attend Xinjiang event next week

Security guards stand in front of the gates of the Huocheng County Official Vocational Training Center in Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region, China, September 3, 2018. REUTERS / Thomas Peter / File Photo

China has urged UN member states not to attend an event planned by Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom next week regarding the crackdown on Uighur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang. This came from a message from Reuters on Friday.

“It is a politically motivated event,” the Chinese mission to the United Nations wrote in a note on Thursday. “We ask your mission not to participate in this anti-China event.”

China accused the organizers of the event, which includes several other European countries in addition to Australia and Canada, of using human rights issues as a political tool to interfere in China’s internal affairs, such as Xinjiang, to cause division, turmoil and disruption to China. Development. “” “

“They are obsessed with provoking a confrontation with China,” the memo said, adding that “the provocative event will only lead to more confrontation.”

The Chinese mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ambassadors from the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom will speak ahead of Wednesday’s virtual UN event, along with Ken Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, and Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

The aim of the event is “to discuss how the United Nations system, Member States and civil society can support and advocate for the human rights of members of ethnic Turkish communities in Xinjiang”, as stated in the invitation.

See also  Crucial decision regarding Prince George?

Western countries and human rights groups have accused authorities in Xinjiang of detaining and torturing Uighurs in the camps in what the United States has described as genocide. In January, Washington banned imports of cotton and tomato products from Xinjiang, citing forced labor.

Beijing denies the allegations and describes the camps as vocational training centers for combating religious extremism.

“Beijing has for years tried to harass governments in order to silence them,” said Luis Charbonneau, director of the United Nations Human Rights Watch on crimes against Uyghurs and other Turkish Muslims. “Friday.

Our Criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.