Statement of H.E.Ambassador CHEN Xu at the General Debate of Agenda Item 2 during the 51stSession of the Human Rights Council
2022-09-13 21:41

(September 13)

Mr. President,

China has expressed repeatedly its solemn position on the OHCHR’s so-called “assessment” on many occasions. This “assessment”, without authorization and based on the presumption of guilt, uses disinformation and lies as its main source, and smears and stigmatizes China. It is firmly opposed and categorically rejected by the Chinese government and people.

This “assessment” is another example of Western countries exerting pressure on UN bodies and politicizing and instrumentalizinghuman rights issues. It once again exposes the attempt of these countries to contain China through Xinjiang related lies. This “assessment” runs counter to the trend of promoting dialogue and cooperation in the field of human rights and is being used by these Western countries to provoke confrontation, create division and undermine multilateralism, signaling a dangerous trend that requires great vigilance of the international community.

With regard to the human rights situation in Xinjiang, no one has a better say than the Chinese people, including people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. At present, Xinjiang enjoys security, social stability and promising development, and people of all ethnic groups are living in happiness. After Xinjiang’s successful fight against terrorism and extremism, it has seen no violent terrorist incident for more than five consecutive years, which has created a favorable environment for the enjoyment of all human rights by people in Xinjiang.

China has been consistently advocating human rights dialogue and cooperation and actively promoted cooperation with the OHCHR. This May, the Chinese government received the visit of former High Commissioner for Human Rights, Madam Michelle Bachelet, to China, and the two sides reached consensus on follow-up cooperation mechanisms. However, we cannot accept the practice of provoking confrontation on the one hand, and demanding cooperation on the other hand. Cooperation should be conducted on the basis of facts and respect the sovereignty and specific conditions of each State. It should never be used as a pretext to serve the political purposes of some countries.

Thank you, Mr. President.