Security guards at the gates of what is officially known as the Professional Skills Training Center in Huucheng County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, September 3, 2018. Reuters / Thomas Peter / File Photo
A memo said China urged UN member states not to attend an event scheduled to be organized by Germany, the United States and Britain next week regarding the crackdown on Uighur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang.
“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 the internal affairs of China, such as Xinjiang, to cause division, turmoil and turmoil. China’s development is stalled. . “
“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 Britain will address the virtual UN event on Wednesday, along with Human Rights Watch Director Ken Roth and Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard.
The invitation stated that the purpose of the event is “to discuss how the United Nations system, Member States and civil society can support and defend the human rights of members of ethnic Turkish communities in Xinjiang.”
Western countries and rights groups have accused authorities in Xinjiang of imprisoning and torturing Uighurs in camps that the United States has described as genocide. In January, Washington banned imports of cotton and tomato products from Xinjiang over allegations of forced labor.
Beijing denied the accusations and described the camps as vocational training centers for combating religious extremism.
“Beijing has been trying to bully governments to silence them for years,” said Louis Charbonneau, director of Human Rights Watch at the United Nations. Friday.
Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
In favor of the Internet. student. Twitter is malicious. Amateur TV expert. Hipster maker.
Devoted music ninja. Zombie practitioner. Pop culture aficionado. Webaholic. Communicator. Internet nerd. Certified alcohol maven. Tv buff.