{"id":3604,"date":"2018-06-25T03:38:04","date_gmt":"2018-06-25T10:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=3604"},"modified":"2018-06-25T03:38:04","modified_gmt":"2018-06-25T10:38:04","slug":"the-us-withdrawal-from-the-unhrc-is-perfect-for-xi-jinping-and-china-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=3604","title":{"rendered":"“The US withdrawal from the UNHRC is perfect for Xi Jinping and China”, The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Frances Eve, London, 22 Jun 2018<\/p>\n

It appears the last holdout in the resistance to \u2018human rights with Chinese characteristics\u2019 has collapsed.<\/p>\n

T<\/span><\/span>he US withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council<\/a> is a gift to China\u2019s leader Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n

Quitting the UNHRC won\u2019t make it disappear. It opens a leadership vacancy that China is happy to fill. The Trump administration<\/a> has stepped back to allow China the space to dominate the council unchallenged and advance its agenda to redefine human rights after the \u201cChina model.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Xi pushes his authoritarian agenda on the international stage while undertaking the worst crackdown on human rights since the Tiananmen Massacre of 1989 back home, now is the time to stand up, not stand down.<\/p>\n

For the first time, China successfully sponsored a resolution in the UNHRC in June 2017, on prioritising development over other human rights. Human rights<\/a> are universal, inalienable, indivisible, independent, equal and non-discriminatory. Your right to economic development is equal to your right to freedom of speech; China\u2019s resolution deliberately undermined that principle.<\/p>\n

China<\/a> followed that up with another resolution in March of this year, which focused on state sovereignty. It was widely criticised, with a UN expert calling it a \u201ctrojan horse\u201d and the Swiss ambassador to the UN saying it \u201cweakens fundamental human rights principles.\u201d The US joined 12 other countries to vote no on the 2017 resolution but was the only country to vote against the March resolution. With the US quitting the UNHRC, it appears the last holdout in the resistance to \u201chuman rights with Chinese characteristics\u201d has collapsed.<\/p>\n

Outside the council chamber, China has deployed procedural and budget rules to \u201cwage war\u201d on UN human rights bodies, with tactics ranging from cutting funding for UN offices, blocking NGOs from receiving accreditation, all the way down to attempts to block individual activists from UN buildings in New York.<\/p>\n

It is willing to take extreme measures. Chinese activist Cao Shunli died in detention in 2014 after being denied medical care because she tried to attend a council session and speak out about human rights abuses. China reacted angrily when NGOs tried to hold a moment of silence for Cao at the council. China\u2019s behaviour at the UN is anything but rules-based, and this is just a taste of what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n

Xi Jinping<\/a> may say that China will be a \u201ckeeper of the international order,\u201d but what he means is that it will keep the exterior of the institutions but get rid of the protection for human rights inside.<\/p>\n

When China ran for re-election to the UNHRC in 2016, Chinese state media said its objective was to \u201cactively declare China\u2019s own human rights policy\u201d. China\u2019s senior diplomat in Geneva said earlier this year that China\u2019s efforts at the council were intended to \u201csmash the West\u2019s monopoly on human rights\u201d.<\/p>\n

The UN Human Rights Council is flawed. Despite the downfall of its predecessor, the Commission on Human Rights, for the same reason, current members include some of the worst human rights abusers like China, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. UNHRC Members are meant to \u201cuphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights\u201d but countries are elected by the UN General Assembly based on geographical distribution and mostly run unopposed. Demonstrable commitment to human rights is clearly not essential.<\/p>\n

Despite its deeply politicised membership, the council is the only international platform for countries to address human rights violations. It appoints independent human rights experts who pull no punches in criticising states (such experts have raised concerns of rights violations in China 104 times in the past eight years).<\/p>\n

The council has also appointed enquiries into North Korea, Syria, South Sudan, and Myanmar, credible independent investigations that can form the basis for prosecution for crimes against humanity. All 193 UN Member States equally go through a universal periodic review of their human rights record at the UNHRC. Even Israeli diplomats have expressed concern about the US\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n

The Human Rights Council has undoubtedly failed to live up to its founding principles. But a US working from within would do better to push for positive change and prevent further backsliding on human rights than sitting on the side-lines. The remaining UNHRC members must now work harder than ever to prevent China and other authoritarian regimes from undermining human rights standards and push for the desperately needed reform of the council.<\/p>\n