By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Australia, the United States and 13 other countries criticized China at the United Nations on Tuesday over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet, prompting China to denounce them for ignoring the "living hell" in the Gaza Strip.
Clashes over China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslims have become a common occurrence at both the United Nations in New York and the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
A U.N. report released two years ago said China's "arbitrary and discriminatory detention" of Uyghurs and other Muslims in its Xinjiang region may constitute crimes against humanity. It said that "serious human rights violations" had been committed.
"We urge China to uphold the international human-rights obligations that it has voluntarily assumed, and to implement all U.N. recommendations," Australia's U.N. Ambassador James Larsen told the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee.
"This includes releasing all individuals arbitrarily detained in both Xinjiang and Tibet, and urgently clarifying the fate and whereabouts of missing family members," Larsen said.
He spoke on behalf of Australia, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Britain.
Beijing has long denied all allegations of abuse of Uyghurs. China's U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong on Tuesday accused the group of Western states of resorting "to lies to provoke confrontations."
"The human-rights situation that should gather the most attention at the committee this year is undoubtedly that of Gaza," he said. "Australia and the U.S., among a few others, played down this living hell, while unleashing attacks and smears against the peaceful and tranquil Xinjiang."
'BIGGEST LIE'
Palestinian militants Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting some 250 others.
U.S. ally Israel retaliated in Gaza, where Gaza authorities say more than 42,000 people have been killed and almost everyone in the enclave of 2.3 million displaced.
Fu said if the Gaza death toll was not enough to "awake the conscience of a few Western countries ... then their so-called protection of human rights of Muslims is nothing but the biggest lie."
Independent U.N. human-rights experts criticized mostly Western states last month for supporting Israel despite its actions in Gaza.
Delivering the U.S. statement to the committee, deputy U.S. Ambassador Lisa Carty said Washington was calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas and for Israel to allow more aid into the enclave.
"We continue to condemn (China's) ongoing atrocities in Xinjiang, repression of Tibetans, crackdown on Hong Kong's democratic institutions, and use of transnational repression to silence those abroad," said Carty.
Pakistan's U.N. Ambassador Munir Akram read a statement to the rights committee on behalf of 80 countries that said any issues related to Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet were internal matters for China. The group also said it opposed politicization of human rights and double standards.
"No country has a perfect human-rights record. But no country is above fair scrutiny of its human-rights obligations," Australia's Larsen said. "It is incumbent on all of us not to undermine international human-rights commitments that benefit us all, and for which all states are accountable."