The U.S. special envoy for women’s affairs says the United Nations is not doing enough to investigate reports of abuse of the Muslim minority in China’s Xinjiang region.
Kelley Currie, the State Department’s ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues, cited reports of forced sterilization, home visits, and sexual violence in detention centers as showing a widespread pattern of targeting women. She regretted what she called the UN’s “total lack of curiosity or concern” about the serious allegations and widespread and disturbing human rights abuses.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is visiting Indonesia, called on Indonesians to take a firm stand against China’s treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang in a speech to a Muslim youth group on Thursday. The Indonesian government has been careful to avoid criticizing Beijing. This is the Trump administration’s most direct attempt to convince Muslims to challenge Beijing’s Xinjiang policy.
The Chinese government denies allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
On Tuesday, a group of U.S. senators introduced a resolution calling what is happening in Xinjiang a genocide. The resolution was co-sponsored by Senator Jim Risch of Indiana, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Rubio of Florida, acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The Trump administration is reportedly considering officially labeling the Chinese government’s treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang as “genocide.
Last week, a bipartisan group of members of Congress wrote to the State Department urging the administration to consider granting refugee asylum to Uighurs from Xinjiang.
Recent Comments