China on Wednesday responded to the growing criticism of Western powers for its treatment of ethnic minorities in the regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, as well as its treatment of the citizens of Hong Kong, the former British colony.
"In this high-level gathering, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Germany, the United States, Canada and some other countries misused the" Human Rights Council "forum to make baseless accusations against China and intervene Regarding the internal affairs of our country, "he added," we strongly object and categorically reject these attempts. "
Hours ago, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said - in a speech in which he addressed several issues before the United Nations Human Rights Council - that President Joe Biden's administration would denounce the atrocities in Xinjiang.
For his part, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in his speech to the council that his country condemns the "institutional oppression" of China against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, northwest of the country, and added that Paris received "identical testimonies and documents that show unjustified practices against the Uyghurs, including a censorship system." And large-scale institutional crackdown. "
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab started Western criticism of China on Monday by condemning the practices of torture, forced labor and forced sterilization of women, and said that Uyghur Muslims are exposed to these practices "on a large scale" in Xinjiang.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on China on Tuesday to allow Michel Bachelet - the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - to visit and investigate allegations of abuse of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang and Tibetans.
"The aforementioned countries are ignoring reality and fabricating and spreading lies regarding Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong," said Chinese Ambassador Chen.
This comes at a time when "Human Rights Watch" revealed a significant rise in conviction rates and lengthy prison sentences against the Muslim Uyghur minority in the "Xinjiang" region, northwestern China.
The organization noted that the Chinese criminal justice system has issued convictions against more than 250,000 people in the region since 2016.
She added that after analyzing 60% of the cases, it was found that many of the convicts were convicted and imprisoned without committing any real attacks.
The organization indicated that these cases are separate from the random arrests of the Uighur minority in detention camps, and called for increased international pressure on the Chinese government to allow an independent investigation into these violations.
Activists and human rights experts at the United Nations say that at least one million Muslims are being held in camps in the remote Xinjiang region of western China.
Beijing denies violations and describes the complexes in Xinjiang as "vocational training centers" and says they are necessary to combat militancy.