China continues to defy international obligations, abuse world bodies arbitrarily: Report

China continues to violate international agreements and has been involved in the abuse of international organisations through its political, economic, and unrestrained power, stated the Hong Kong Free Press report. Beijing has implemented increasingly harsh measures on minorities and Chinese dissidents, signing extradition accords with 59 countries, 39 of which have been ratified. The country has taken undue advantage of international accords to bring Uyghurs, Tibetans, and other Chinese dissidents back to China from other countries, the report claimed.

The communist administration has also been accused of abusing Interpol's Red Notice system by issuing politically motivated "red notices" demanding the arrest and extradition of Chinese dissidents and others whom it considers to be a security threat. Notably, China issued a total of 100 notices in 2015 as well as 612 in 2016, the report stated. According to the Hong Kong Free Press, Beijing abused Interpol by using it to bring back dissidents from foreign nations which is in violation of Article 3 of the Interpol constitution. The report stated that Article 3 "strictly prohibits the organisation from engaging in any intervention or actions of a political, military, religious, or racial nature."  

The issue of Tibetans' arbitrary detention raised in UNHRC 48th session

At least four independent UN Human Rights Experts and bodies have described the rising number of detained Tibetans as a worrying sign of arbitrary and incommunicado detentions, closed trials, and unknown charges and verdicts against the Tibetan religious minority in China. The issue was also brought up at the Human Rights Council's 48th session. Kai Mueller, Executive Director of the International Campaign for Tibet-Germany, brought up the issue of Tibetans being detained arbitrarily and then disappearing, reported the outlet. 

Speaking at the 48th session of the UNHRC, Zumretay Arkin of the World Uyghur Congress claimed that the Cambodian authorities deported 22 Uyghurs to China in 2009, whereas, in 2017, the Egyptian government extradited 22 Uyghur students at the request of the People's Republic of China, resulting in their disappearance. Furthermore, 109 Uyghurs have been held in Thai detention centres since 2015, but their whereabouts are unknown. Arkin stated that Uyghurs live in continual fear of being extradited to China, not because they have done some crimes, but for being Uyghur, reported the Hong Kong Free Press. 

(With ANI inputs)

Image: AP