More than 300 NGOs on Wednesday 9 September urged the UN to set up an international mechanism to investigate human rights violations in China and called on the highest bodies of the organization "
to act decisively
".
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In an open letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, as well as to UN member states, these organizations, from more than 60 countries, are based on an initiative of 50 United Nations experts who called at the end of June for "
decisive measures to protect fundamental freedoms in China
" and denounced "
massive human rights violations committed by China in Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang , the suppression of information in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as attacks on rights defenders, journalists, lawyers and government critics across the country
”.
Targeted rights defenders
These NGOs also accuse China of targeting human rights defenders abroad, of suppressing intellectual freedom outside China and of censoring the internet.
They also denounce what they see as an attempt by China to muzzle "
initiatives that seek to closely examine serious human rights violations and international crimes committed in countries around the world
", accusing Beijing of "
misrepresenting the mandate. of the United Nations Human Rights Council
”.
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“
A state that strives to stand above all critical scrutiny poses a fundamental threat to human rights.
The fact that China - a state endowed with an extraordinary world power - expects to be treated in this way affects us all,
”say the signatories.
They therefore demand a whole series of concrete measures from the UN bodies - special session of the Human Rights Council, appointment of a special envoy - but also ask Michelle Bachelet to carry out her independent mandate by monitoring China's widespread human rights violations and reporting on it.
As criticism of China's human rights violation has grown, Beijing, which has one of five permanent seats on the Security Council, has continued to expand its influence in recent years. within the United Nations.