The United Nations Human Rights Council assembly room.  Photo: AFP

A number of countries, including Venezuela, South Sudan and the Maldives, have spoken at the UN Human Rights Council praising China's human rights achievements and opposing interference by outside forces in China's internal affairs, including those related to Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet.

In a dialogue between the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council held from Tuesday to Wednesday, the representative of Venezuela spoke on issues related to China, recognizing the Chinese government's efforts to eradicate poverty and promote the well-being of all ethnic groups in China, including in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and said that illegal coercive measures taken by some foreign forces have had a serious negative impact on the human rights of the Chinese people in Xinjiang.

Under no circumstances should human rights be used as a political tool, and the UN Human Rights Council and OHCHR should respect national sovereignty and territorial integrity and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, the representative of North Korea said during the same dialogue. 

South Sudan representative expressed support for China's implementation of "one country, two systems" in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, noting that Hong Kong residents enjoy a wide range of human rights and fundamental freedoms. 

Tanzania, for its part, noted China's tremendous progress in poverty reduction, including the 99 million Chinese people who were lifted out of extreme poverty at the end of 2020, and the remarkable improvement in their living standards, noting that China has made an important contribution to the cause of international poverty reduction.

Representatives of several other countries said that issues related to Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong are internal affairs of China, which external forces should never interfere with. 

Global Times