By Le Figaro with AFP
Published on 03/23/2023 at 21:18
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UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, Switzerland February 27, 2023. DENIS BALIBOUSE/ Portal
China tried on Thursday (March 23) to block a prominent Uyghur activist from addressing the UN Human Rights Council as he demanded that the body urgently consider serious charges of human rights abuses against Beijing.
Dolkun Isa, based in Germany and President of the World Uyghur Congress, spoke during a general debate at the Council. He explained that the seriousness of the allegations leveled against China “requires the immediate intervention and urgent attention of the Council.”
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An anti-Chinese, separatist and violent element.
Mao Yizong, Chinese diplomat
He points to a number of recent reports, including that by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, that speak of crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other minority Muslims in the Xinjiang region. But as soon as he began to speak, China’s representative in the room, Mao Yizong, asked to speak in protest.
“We have reason to doubt the speaker’s qualifications,” he said, insisting that Dolkun Isa was “not a representative of an NGO, let alone a human rights advocate.” “It’s more of an anti-Chinese, separatist and violent element,” accused Mao Yizong, speaking in Chinese. “Allowing him to engage in separatist activities within the Council would be a grave violation of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the Rules of Procedure of the Human Rights Council,” the diplomat said.
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This isn’t the first time the Chinese government has tried to silence me.
Dolkun Isa, President of the World Uyghur Congress
President of the Council Václav Bálek stressed that NGOs are free to choose the speakers who will represent them during the debate and let Dolkun Isa finish his remarks. Dolkun Isa was invited by the non-governmental organization Global Human Rights Defense. “This is not the first time the Chinese government has tried to silence me,” he told AFP, accusing China of “manipulating the UN judicial system.”
He regretted that, despite the damning conclusions of Ms Bachelet’s report, the Council had not agreed to put the Xinjiang issue on its agenda. This report, released minutes before the end of the former Chilean president’s term in office, highlights “credible” allegations of widespread torture, arbitrary detention and violations of religious and reproductive rights. It brought UN support for longstanding allegations that Beijing is holding more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims in re-education camps. Dolkun Isa says his mother died in one of these camps, where two of his brothers are serving long sentences.