Apr 9, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2020

USCIRF Outraged Over China Selection to UN Human Right Council Consultative Group

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today expressed outrage over the selection of China for the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council Consultative Group. The Consultative Group consists of five member states tasked with screening initial applications and making recommendations for independent UN experts. China was chosen by the Asia-Pacific Regional Group on April 1, 2020, to serve for a one-year term.

“The Chinese government is one of the worst abusers of religious freedom and other human rights,” noted USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “The Chinese Communist Party should not have any influence over appointments of the UN Human Rights Council’s independent human rights experts.”

“The United Nations and the Human Rights Council are important institutions for the protection globally of international human rights,” USCIRF Commissioner Tenzin Dorjee added. “We urge the U.S. government to increase its engagement with the United Nations human rights mechanisms in order to counteract the Chinese government’s malign influence.”

In its 2019 Annual Report, USCIRF called upon the administration to use its authority under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and the International Religious Freedom Act to impose targeted sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for severe religious freedom violations, especially Chen Quanguo, the current Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang.

In February 2020, USCIRF released a factsheet explaining how the Chinese government’s new Regulation for Religious Groups could further restrict religious freedom.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected].