At a UN review, China basks in the flattery of friendly countries
While dismissing criticism as lies
Once every five years or so, each UN member state has to have its human-rights record examined under a so-called Universal Periodic Review (UPR) overseen by the body’s Human Rights Council. Every country in the UN may pose questions and recommendations to the state under review. This week China had its turn. The event merely illustrated its success in creating a split between most countries in the global south, which tended to flatter China with friendly questions, and Western democracies, which castigated it.
Rights campaigners had hoped the UPR would offer scrutiny of China’s many abuses since its last review in 2018. It would be the first discussion of China’s human rights within the UN since the body published a report in 2022 alleging possible crimes against humanity in the region of Xinjiang, home to the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. China has since blocked attempts to discuss the report.
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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Easy questions only”
From the January 27th 2024 edition
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