Over 300 groups urge more scrutiny of China on human rights
Geneva: More than 300 civil society groups including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the International Service for Human Rights are urging the United Nations to set up an international watchdog to address human rights violations by the Chinese government.
In an open letter published Wednesday, the groups say they are seeking greater scrutiny of and response to violations in places like Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as beyond such as through censorship, development that hurts the environment and the targeting of rights defenders.
The call for the creation of an "independent international mechanism" to focus on China's rights violations adds to recent international pressure on Beijing over its handling of issues like protests in Hong Kong and detention centers what the government calls vocational or training centers for Uighur Muslims and others in western Xinjiang region.
China has systematically persecuted rights defenders in reprisal for their cooperation with UN human rights operations torture, enforced disappearance, imprisonment, and stripping licenses from lawyers, said Renee Xia, director of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, in a statement.
The UN system should no longer tolerate such treatment. The move follows a call by independent experts who work with the United Nations for a special session of the Human Rights Council focusing on the array of issues around China's rights record. Advocates insist that no country no matter how large or powerful should escape extra scrutiny of their rights records when warranted.
The groups also want UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to take responsibility for publicly addressing China's sweeping rights violations, Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
The appeal comes ahead of the start of the 47-member-state Human Rights Council's fall session on Monday. In its summer session, the council held an urgent debate on a rise of police violence against Black people and repression of protests in the United States.
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Ruturaj scores unbeaten 67 as CSK beat MI by eight wickets
Chennai (PTI): Ruturaj Gaikwad struck his second successive half-century of the season as Chennai Super Kings cruised to a commanding eight-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.
Gaikwad remained unbeaten on 67 off 48 balls, stitching an unbroken 98-run stand for the third wicket with Kartik Sharma (54 not out) to comfortably chase down the target of 160 after Mumbai were stopped at 159 for seven.
Mumbai Indians' struggles continued as they only have two wins in nine matches, remaining on four points, while CSK climbed to eight points from nine games.
Earlier, MI's innings never quite gained momentum, with Naman Dhir the lone bright spot with a 57. He walked in after Will Jacks fell for one in the second over and added 40 runs for the third wicket with Suryakumar Yadav (21).
For CSK, left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad (2/26) was the pick of the bowlers, removing Ryan Rickelton (37) and Tilak Varma (5), while Anshul Kamboj (3/32) impressed with an effective spell.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 159 for 7 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 37, Naman Dhir 57; Noor Ahmed 2/26, Anshul Kamboj 3/32).
Chennai Super Kings: 160 for 2 in 18.1 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 67 not out, Urvil Patel 24, Kartik Sharma 54 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 1/20).
