MEA explains why India abstained at UNHRC from voting on draft resolution against China

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday reiterated that India remains committed to all basic human rights and stressed that country-specific resolutions were never helpful in dealing with human rights violations anywhere in the world. A day after India abstained from voting on a draft resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on holding a debate on the human rights situation in China’s Xinjiang province, the MEA clarified its stand on the issue of human rights violations. Since it abstained from voting against China at the UNHRC, India received flak from those supporting the resolution saying that the country had indirectly “helped China” to get away with violating the rights of ethnic minorities. “India remains committed to all human rights. India’s vote at UNHRC in line with its long-held position is that country-specific resolutions are never helpful. India favours a dialogue to deal with such issues,” a statement issued by the MEA on Friday said. India on Thursday abstained from voting against China on a draft resolution in the UN Human Rights Council on holding a debate on the human rights situation in China’s volatile north-western Xinjiang province. Over the years, various human rights watchdogs have alleged that more than one million Uyghurs have been detained against their will in a large network of what Beijing calls “re-education camps”. They have pointed out that detaining the Uyghurs in what is akin to “concentration camps” is gross violation of all human rights of the ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. The draft resolution on “holding a debate on the situation of human rights in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China” was turned down in the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council after 17 members voted in favour, 19 members voted against, including China, and 11 abstentions, which included India, Brazil, Mexico and Ukraine. With just 17 votes in its favour, the proposed resolution received support from less than half of its members in the Council. At the Council, the draft resolution was put forth by a core group of countries comprising of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, United States and the United Kingdom. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.