- Title: Activists urge UN to hold China accountable for human rights violations
- Date: 5th November 2018
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (NOVEMBER 5, 2018) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF MEMBERS OF THE TIBETAN YOUTH ASSOCIATION IN EUROPE HOLDING BANNER READING (English) "UNITED NATIONS STAND UP FOR TIBET", AND TIBETAN FLAG, AND CHANTING ANTI-CHINA SLOGANS ON PLACE DES NATIONS, IN FRONT OF THE UNITED NATIONS MEMBERS OF THE TIBETAN YOUTH ASSOCIATION IN EUROPE CHANTING SLOGANS AND HOLDING BANNERS READING (English) "CHINA: TORTURE IS A WEAPON AGAINST DISSIDENTS", "DON'T BE SILENCED ON TIBET OR EAST TURKESTAN" BANNER READING (English) "CHINA: TORTURE IS A WEAPON AGAINST DISSIDENTS" / ACTIVIST BANNER READING (English) "DON'T BE SILENCED ON TIBET OR EAST TURKESTAN" (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIBETAN YOUTH ASSOCIATION IN EUROPE CO-DIRECTOR, TENZIN KHAMPO, SAYING: "China will undergo its third universal periodical review, and we want the United Nations to make China accountable this time. If the United Nations fails this time, it is a failure for the entire humanity, and this, we cannot see, because the United Nations actually stands for protection of human rights, and if they treat human rights like this every time, this is going to be a shame for the entire humanity. ACTIVIST / BANNER READING (English) "DEATH IN CUSTODY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS", WITH PICTURE OF THREE HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS, CAO SHUNLI, LUI XIAOBO AND TENZIN DELEG RINPOCHE ACTIVISTS HOLDING A BANNER READING (English) "UNITED NATIONS STAND UP FOR TIBET", WITH THE UNITED NATIONS BUILDING IN THE BACKGROUND TIBETAN FLAG (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIBETAN YOUTH ASSOCIATION IN EUROPE CO-DIRECTOR, TENZIN KHAMPO, SAYING: (Reporter asking: What is the situation for Tibetans?) "The situation right now inside Tibet has gone from bad to worse, with Xi Jinping at the helm." GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (NOVEMBER 2, 2018) (REUTERS) GENEVA CONFERENCE CENTER TIBETAN FLAG / AUDIENCE AT GENEVA FORUM ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA AND REGIONS UNDER ITS RULES, ORGANISED BY HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS HEAD OF THE TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE, LOBSANG SANGAY, ATTENDING THE FORUM PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD UIGHUR CONGRESS, DOLKUN ISA, ATTENDING THE FORUM FORUM ON HUMAN RIGHTS ONGOING SCREEN READING (English) "GENEVA FORUM 2018 FORUM ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN REGIONS UNDER THE PRC (PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA)" (SOUNDBITE) (English) HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH GENEVA DIRECTOR, JOHN FISHER, SAYING: "Human Rights Watch recently released a report detailing conversation we had with a number of people who have been in the camps, whose family members have been detained, they don't have access to lawyers, they are not free to leave. It is absurd to call these some kind of training facilities when essentially people are being detained against their will, incommunicado and indefinitely. If China has nothing to hide, then we call upon it to allow access to the camps by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, by the UN (United Nations) independent experts, we call on the UN to set up a fact-finding mission, so that people can go into the camps and see for themselves. And we hope that the universal periodic review of China will be an opportunity for states from all regions to press China to allow access." FORUM ONGOING VARIOUS OF TIBETAN MONK, GOLOG JIGME, ATTENDING THE FORUM (SOUNDBITE) (English) HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH GENEVA DIRECTOR, JOHN FISHER, SAYING: "One of our biggest concerns is the lack of political courage and the self-censorship that is expressed by many states in failing to hold China to account for its massive human rights violations. When we look at the scale of the violations taking place in Xinjiang region, with over a million Uighurs detained, if this were any other country of the world, we would be having a special session of the Human Rights Council, we would be having calls for the creation of a monitoring mechanism, a fact-finding mission...Because it is China, the responses have been muted. It is time for that to change. China is able to get away with human rights violations on a massive scale, because other countries let them get away with it, and because many of them have bilateral and economic interests." TIBETAN FLAG AND BOARD READING (English) "GENEVA FORUM 2018 FORUM ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN REGIONS UNDER THE PRC (PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA)" (SOUNDBITE) (English) HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH GENEVA DIRECTOR, JOHN FISHER, SAYING: "We think it is time for states from all regions to not release the pressure, but to ensure that there is the type of scrutiny for China that is appropriate, and which is, would be warranted as for any other country in the world. China should not be above the law, and so we do encourage both the United States in its bilateral and other engagements, and also for states from all regions, to hold China to account for these violations, using every tool at their disposal." GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (NOVEMBER 5, 2018) (REUTERS) PLACARD READING (English) "INTENSE SURVEILLANCE ACROSS TIBET AND EAST TURESTAN / BOARD READING (English) "CHINA FAILS TO RESPECT FREEDOM OF RELIGION" MEMBERS OF THE TIBETAN YOUTH ASSOCIATION IN EUROPE DEMONSTRATING ON PLACE DES NATIONS, IN FRONT OF THE UNITED NATIONS
- Embargoed: 19th November 2018 15:01
- Keywords: human rights violations China ethnic minorities Uighurs Tibetans United Nations
- Location: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- City: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Country: France
- Topics: Government/Politics,United Nations
- Reuters ID: LVA001958C5S7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Activists called on the United Nations and member states to pressure China this week to account for alleged human rights violations, including the suspected mass detention of 1 million Muslim Uighurs in far-western Xinjiang province.
China's record will be examined by the U.N. Human Rights Council on Tuesday (November 6), for the third time since 2009, and for the first time since Xi Jinping came to power, in a regular review expected to focus on its treatment of ethnic minorities, especially Uighurs and Tibetans.
In August, a U.N. Human Rights panel said that China is believed to be holding up to 1 million ethnic Uighurs in a secretive system of "internment camps" in Xinjiang, where they undergo political education.
Beijing has denied that such camps are for "political education" and says they are instead vocational training centers, part of government initiatives to bolster economic growth and social mobility in the region.
Human Rights Watch Geneva Director, John Fisher, said such characterisation was "absurd".
On the sidelines of a forum on human rights in regions under China, such as Tibet and Xinjiang, Fisher said that they had been in contact with people who had been in these camps, or whose family members have been detained, and they said there were not free to leave.
He urged the U.N. and member states to pressure China into granting access to these camps.
In a demonstration on Monday (November 5) in front of the United Nations, Tibetan activists said that the human rights situation in Tibet had also deteriorated since Xi came into power.
According to them, 152 people in Tibet have immolated themselves between 2009 and today, to denounce these violations.
China denies accusations of human rights abuses in Tibet. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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