The New York Times

Tuesday, April 18, 2000

China Wins Vote at U.N. Rights Forum

By Reuters

GENEVA (Reuters) - China scored a diplomatic victory Tuesday, winning a vote by the main U.N. human rights body not to act on a U.S. resolution denouncing its allegedly deteriorating record.

The world's largest country, which has escaped scrutiny for the last decade, was backed by Cuba and Russia, as well as regional allies India, Indonesia and Pakistan.

The United States, whose resolution denounced increasing political and religious repression in China, was joined by countries including Canada, Japan and seven European Union members (Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain) in opposing China's procedural motion.

The vote at the U.N. Commission on Human Rights was 22 countries in favor of China's no-action motion, 18 against with 12 abstentions. Romania's delegation left the room during the public vote by the 53-member state forum.

Delegates broke into applause after the Nepalese chairman of the Geneva talks announced the result. It nearly mirrored last year's tally of 22 states in favor, 17 against and 14 abstentions.

China's ambassador Qiao Zonghuai presented the no-action motion and denounced the U.S. resolution as ``an anti-China political farce directed by the United States alone.''

China, which enjoys wide support among developing countries, has escaped U.N. scrutiny every year since protesters were killed in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square in June 1989.

U.S. OPTIMISTIC DESPITE DEFEAT

The U.S. delegation put a brave face on the fresh defeat.

``The gap by which the no-action motion passed narrowed once again this year. A growing number of countries now recognize that China should not be permitted to escape scrutiny of its human rights record and that China should not prevent the Commission from fulfilling its mandate,'' said a statement by Assistant Secretary of State Harold Hongju Koh.

If the vote on no-action had been a tie, the Commission would have taken up the U.S. resolution.

Koh, in Geneva this week to lobby for support of the U.S. text, declared: ``No Commission member should have the right to judge all others yet never be judged itself.

``We sponsored the China resolution as part of our principled, purposeful policy of engagement with China. Our goals were to speak up for the Chinese people and to focus international attention on the marked deterioration in the human rights situation in China during the past year.

``We believe that we have accomplished these goals.''

Koh, who serves as assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, accused China of having intensified its crackdown on organized political dissent. Beijing had also initiated a ``full-scale campaign'' to suppress the Falun Gong spiritual movement, banned last July, he added.

``Chinese authorities have also intensified controls on unregistered churches and ethnic minorities, especially Tibetans and Uighurs. In addition, the government also tightened controls on the media, academia and the Internet,'' he said.

Human Rights Watch said in a statement: ``Today's decision represents a sorry failure of political will. By turning a blind eye to China's worsening human rights record, the delegations in Geneva have given the wrong signal to Beijing's leaders.''

The U.N. forum also adopted resolutions on the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq, but interrupted its debate on Iran which it will resume later in the day. Cuba, Myanmar, Sudan and former Yugoslavia are also in the dock Tuesday.