‘UN report closed door for co-operation’, says Chinese ambassador

Describing the report as 'illegal and invalid', the Chinese ambassador also said that the 'whole set of ideas is shelved because of the release of the report'.

Published on: Sep 09, 2022 5:39 PM IST

Written by Manjiri Sachin ChitreEdited by Chandrashekar Srinivasan

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The Chinese ambassador to the United Nations Chen Xu on Friday hit out at a UN report on alleged human rights abuses in the Asian country's Xinjiang region. Speaking to the media, Chen Xu said that the report had 'closed the door of cooperation', news agency Reuters said.

Ambassador of China to the United Nations Chen Xu (Reuters)

Describing the report as 'illegal and invalid', the Chinese ambassador also said that the 'whole set of ideas is shelved because of the release of the report'. "You cannot hurt us while in the meantime enjoying cooperation with us," he said.

The office of UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on August 31 released the 46-page report on China's alleged human rights abuses in the country - just 13 minutes before she stepped down from her four-year tenure. The report is titled 'OHCHR Assessment of Human Rights Concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China'.

Also read: China fumes over UN report citing ‘serious human rights violations’ in Xinjiang

The report said 'serious human rights violations have been committed in China' and also that the 'detention of Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang may constitute crimes against humanity'.

The report came after Bachelet visited Xinjiang in May.

Reacting to this, China had earlier published its own 131-page refutation - claiming that the 'so-called 'assessment' runs counter to the mandate of Bachelet's office and distorts China's laws and policies, smears and slanders China, and interferes in China's internal affairs'.

Also read: As India, China disengage in Hot Springs, Delhi spotlights other friction points

Over the past few years China has been in the limelight for its alleged human rights abuses and mass detention campaign in Xinjiang that swept an estimated million Uyghurs and other ethnic groups into a network of prisons and camps. Beijing called them 'training centers' but former detainees described them as brutal detention centers.

Some countries, including the United States, have accused Beijing of committing genocide.

(With inputs from agencies)

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