China Challenges U.N. Event Focused on Its Uyghur Population

China faced condemnation from the United States and a handful of other U.N. member states at a United Nations event on Wednesday (May 12) over treatment of its Uyghur minority and other Turkic Muslim groups in the Xinjiang province.

The event sought to pressure Beijing to allow a United Nations human rights representative to visit the region and conduct an independent investigation. China attempted to arrange a boycott of the event before ultimately deciding to make a last-minute appearance in which it challenged the widely reported characterization of Xinjiang in the international community.

“We will keep standing up and speaking out until China’s government stops its crimes against humanity and the genocide of Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang,” said U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield. She was joined at the event by her counterparts from the United Kingdom and Germany.

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