The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) and other human rights groups are calling on UN member states to vote against China’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council, which will be decided on October 10. Due to China’s devastating human rights record, the organizations are urging as many states as possible to express their rejection of China’s candidacy by voting “no.” Kuwait, Japan, and Indonesia have also submitted their applications for the four open seats for the Asia-Pacific group. China’s current application is being voted on without a real opponent. In the last election in 2020, only 139 out of 191 states supported China’s candidacy, which was seen as a setback for the Chinese government.
“China must not be elected to the UN Human Rights Council. We strongly urge UN member states to vote against China’s membership in the Human Rights Council. The Chinese government must be held accountable for the human rights violations it has committed, and not rewarded with a seat on the Human Rights Council. It is also about the credibility of the UN Human Rights Council,” said Kai Mueller, head of the International Campaign for Tibet’s UN Advocacy Team and Executive Director of ICT Germany.
Together with more than 143 other Tibet organizations, ICT signed a joint letter to the foreign ministers of UN member states in September 2023. In the letter, the organizations called on member states not to support China’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council and to vote “no.” The organizations also pointed out the concerns expressed by the UN Social Committee, UN experts, and UN special rapporteurs regarding the devastating human rights violations in Tibet.
Various UN bodies have recently criticized the Chinese government for, among other things, the forced internment of more than one million Tibetan children, the so-called “work transfer programs” for Tibetans, the destruction of Tibetan culture and language, and the persecution of Tibetan environmental defenders.
ICT and other human rights groups are urging UN member states to take a stand against China’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council and to send a clear message that human rights violations will not be tolerated.