Uyghur and Human Rights: Unite with Europe and the US for Organizational Reform

Published in Sankei Shimbun
(Japan) on 19 October 2022
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Dorothy Phoenix. Edited by Wes Vanderburgh.
The name of human rights weeps. The democratic nations of Japan, the U.S. and Europe must unite and work hard toward drastic change in order to achieve the organization's primary duty.

At the United Nations Human Rights Council, a proposal suggested by the U.S. and other countries seeking to discuss China's human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region was voted down by a narrow margin. The decision is due to China's, a country that is both involved in the Uyghur problem and a member of the council, taking a lead in opposing the motion and influencing other member nations.

The decision is contrary to the professed mission for the "promotion and protection of human rights" and "fundamental freedoms." The international community, with democratic nations at its heart, must continue to investigate the Uyghur problem and not be discouraged by decisions of the Human Rights Council that undermine its own reason for being.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights announced at the end of August that it had received a report pointing out severe human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and the U.S., the U.K. and other countries proposed holding a discussion next year.

The results of the vote were that 19 members opposed the proposal, 17 were in favor and 11 abstained, so the proposal was rejected. The following day, Ukraine, one of the nations that abstained, offered to alter its vote to support it, but the change was not approved.

A Chinese representative claimed that the proposed debate would "not promote dialogue, but only lead to new confrontations" and added to the number of votes against the measure, stating that if approved, "any other developing countries could be targeted anytime in the future."

China's posture of altering the present condition of the international community to its own convenience absolutely cannot be allowed. Can it be said that Japan, the U.S. and Europe have done enough to urge other member nations to support the proposal?

China uses its economic power as a shield to strengthen its influence on the Human Rights Council. In a meeting at the end of June 2020, 27 countries voiced opposition to China's enforcement of its Hong Kong national security law, but 53 others supported it.

Despotic states such as China engage in human rights issues by dismissing international criticism as an attempt at "interference in [a nation's] internal affairs," and they obstruct recommendations, investigations and actions that put the country at a disadvantage. Nations that continuously conduct themselves contrary to the primary goal of the Human Rights Council are not qualified to be members. They must be removed from the council at once.

Regarding the Human Rights Council, the U.S. says that "when the United States engages constructively with the Council, in concert with our allies and friends, positive change is within reach." In the Human Rights Council, Japan must cooperate with the U.S. and Europe and take the leading role for immediate change.


ウイグルと人権理 欧米と結束し組織改革を

これでは人権の名が泣く。組織が本来の使命を果たせるよう日米欧の民主主義国は結束して、抜本的な改革に取り組まなければならない。

国連人権理事会で、中国・新疆ウイグル自治区での人権侵害をめぐる討論開催を求めた米国などの提案が小差で否決された。ウイグル問題の当事国であり、理事国でもある中国が反対の先頭に立ち、他の理事国に働きかけた結果とされる。

「人権と基本的自由の保護、その促進」を使命とする人権理の理念に反する決定である。民主主義国を中心とした国際社会は、自らの存在意義を否定するような人権理の決定にひるまず、ウイグル問題を追及し続けねばならない。

国連人権高等弁務官事務所(OHCHR)が、ウイグル自治区での深刻な人権侵害を指摘した報告書を8月末に公表したことなどを受け、米国や英国などが来年の会合での討論開催を提案した。

採決の結果、反対19、賛成17、棄権11で、提案は否決された。棄権したウクライナは採決の翌日、賛成に変えたいと申し出たが、変更は認められなかった。

中国の代表は「討議は対話を促進せず、新たな国家間の対立を招く」と主張し、可決されれば「次は他の途上国の問題が狙われる可能性がある」とたきつけて反対票を増やしていった。

国際社会の現状を自国に都合の良いように変更することを狙う中国の姿勢は、到底認められるものではない。日米欧は、他の理事国に賛成への働きかけを十分に行ったといえるのだろうか。

中国は経済力を盾に人権理での影響力を強めている。2020年6月末の会合では、中国の「香港国家安全維持法」施行に反対を表明したのは27カ国だったが、支持は53カ国にものぼった。

中国のような専制国家が人権理入りするのは、国際社会の批判を「人権を利用した内政干渉」として退け、自国に不利な勧告や調査活動、討論を阻止することにある。人権理本来の使命に反した行動を続けるこれらの国家は理事国になる資格はない。即刻排除されて然(しか)るべきだ。

米国は人権理について「米国が同盟・友邦国と協力して建設的に関与すれば、前向きの変革が実現可能だ」としている。人権理で日本は欧米諸国と連携し、直ちに変革の先頭に立たねばならない。
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