UN body rejects debate on China’s rights record

The UN rights council yesterday rejected a Western-led motion to hold a debate about alleged human rights abuses in China's Xinjiang region after a UN report found possible crimes against humanity.

The defeat is only the second time in the council's 16-year history that a motion has been rejected and is seen by observers as a setback to both accountability efforts and the West's moral authority on human rights. The US, Canada and UK were among the countries that called for the motion.

China's envoy warned shortly before the vote that the motion would create a "dangerous shortcut" for examining other countries' human rights records. . "Today China is targeted. Tomorrow any other developing country will be targeted," said Chen Xu.