China on Thursday (March 23rd) attempted to block a prominent Uyghur activist from speaking to the UN Human Rights Council, as he demanded that the body urgently consider serious charges of human rights abuses against Beijing.
Dolkun Isa, based in Germany and president of the World Uyghur Congress, spoke during a general debate in the Council.
He said the seriousness of the allegations against China "
demands the immediate intervention and urgent attention of the Council
".
An anti-Chinese, separatist and violent element.
Mao Yizong, Chinese diplomat
He refers to a number of recent reports, including that of the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, which speak of crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other minorities. Muslims in the Xinjiang region.
But as soon as he started speaking, the representative of China in the room, Mao Yizong, asked to speak in protest.
“
We have reason to dispute the qualification of the speaker
,” he said, insisting that Dolkun Isa is “not
the representative of an NGO, let alone an human rights defender. 'man
'.
“
It is rather an anti-Chinese, separatist and violent element
,” accused Mao Yizong, who spoke in Chinese.
“
Allowing him to engage in separatist activities within the Council would be a serious violation of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, as well as the rules of procedure of the Human Rights Council,” the diplomat said
. .
Read alsoThe appalling testimony of Gulbahar, Uighur survivor of the Chinese gulag
This is not the first time the Chinese government has tried to silence me.
Dolkun Isa, President of the World Uyghur Congress
Council President Václav Bálek stressed that NGOs are free to choose the speakers who represent them during the debate, and let Dolkun Isa finish his intervention.
Dolkun Isa had been invited by the non-governmental organization Global Human Rights Defence.
"
This is not the first time the Chinese government has tried to silence me
," he told AFP, accusing China "
of manipulating the UN rights system
".
He regretted that the Council had not agreed to put the question of Xinjiang on its agenda, despite the damning conclusions of Ms. Bachelet's report.
This report, published minutes before the end of the mandate of the former president of Chile, highlighted "
credible
" allegations of widespread torture, arbitrary detention and violations of religious and reproductive rights.
It brought UN backing to long-running accusations that Beijing held more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims in re-education camps.
Dolkun Isa says his mother died in one of these camps, where two of his brothers are serving long sentences.
