China urges countries to stop double-standards on human rights issues

Children have fun on Dove Lane in Hotan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 27, 2020. (Xinhua/Sadat)

BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhua) -- China urges some related countries to abandon ideological prejudice and stop double standards on human rights issues, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

Cuba made a speech on behalf of 64 countries on Friday at the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. It supported China's position on Xinjiang-related matters and urged relevant parties to stop using such matters to interfere in China's internal affairs.

In response, spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that for quite some time, certain countries have been using Xinjiang-related matters to fabricate lies that slander and discredit China's counter-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts in Xinjiang. Many friendly and developing countries uphold an objective and unbiased attitude, and have voiced their support on multiple occasions regarding China's position and measures on Xinjiang-related matters.

At the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Cuba made a speech on behalf of 64 countries, advocating that all parties promote and protect human rights through constructive dialogue and cooperation. It firmly opposes the politicization of human rights issues and double standards, and stresses that Xinjiang is an inseparable part of China.

Cuba also urged relevant parties to abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and stop using Xinjiang-related matters to interfere in China's internal affairs. They should end unjustified and politically-motivated accusations against China, and stop seeking to contain developing countries under the pretext of human rights issues. Besides the joint statement, representatives from many other countries have spoken out separately to support China's legitimate stance on Xinjiang-related matters.

Zhao said Xinjiang-related issues are not human rights issues. At its essence, they are about countering violent terrorism, radicalization and separatism. There have never been such things as "genocide", "forced labor" or "religious oppression" in Xinjiang. They are nothing but baseless and sensational accusations made by those ignorant, ill-intentioned and biased individuals who simply want to extend their political interests. The overwhelmingly just voices of many developing countries at the UN Human Rights Council are in sharp contrast to a handful of countries that made trumped-up charges against China. It reflects that their lies cannot stand the test of the facts, he added.

"We urge these countries to abandon ideological prejudice, stop politicizing and applying double standards on human rights issues, and stop undermining China's interests and interfering in China's internal affairs by using Xinjiang-related issues as a pretext," Zhao said.