A total of 15 United Nations member states on Friday called on the Chinese government to end human rights abuses against its citizens, especially ethnic and religious minorities. Signers of the statement included the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Ukraine. Several small countries, including Palau, San Marino, and North Macedonia, also joined the statement.
The nations jointly said they were concerned about credible reports of ongoing serious human rights violations. China’s government continued to use arbitrary detention, forced labor, censorship, and mass surveillance, they said. It continued to dismantle civil liberties in Hong Kong and issued arrest warrants and bounties to punish free expression. The government also repressed Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners, and Christians—including through torture and forcible separation of children from families, they said.
Chinese authorities in October cracked down on unregistered Christian churches, arresting more than 22 pastors and church workers. Some were denied access to lawyers for days. At least one church member was held without a legal detention notice.
The 15 nations also called on other UN member states to put pressure on China to address the violations and institute accountability measures. China wasn’t meeting its obligations under international law, they said.
Dig deeper: Read Onize Oduah’s report on the October arrests of unregistered pastors and church members in China.