China's international crimes
Departing U.N. official issues report calling for immediate release of Uyghurs
A long overdue U.N. report concludes that China’s actions in Xinjiang, where the government houses nearly 2 million ethnic and mostly Muslim Uyghurs in camps, “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.”
The 48-page report, issued just 13 minutes before U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet ended her tenure, found that “vocational and education” facilities for Uyghurs amounted to detention. It called on China to immediately release “individuals who are arbitrarily deprived of their liberty.”
The action by the top U.N. human rights official will further complicate China’s standing within the world body and overall diplomatic relations. It could lead to global condemnation for genocide.
Welcome to fall (in the Northern Hemisphere) and this Sept. 2 edition of Globe Trot. “There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared,” wrote Dietrich Bonhoeffer. “To demand guarantees is to want to protect oneself. Peace means giving oneself completely to God’s commandment, wanting no security, but in faith and obedience laying the destiny of the nations in the hand of Almighty God, not trying to direct it for selfish purposes.”
China: Beijing promptly condemned the U.N. report on its crimes against Uyghurs (a grouping that can include other ethnic Turkic Muslims and Christians). But European leaders called for “urgent attention,” and the report will likely headline talking points as nations gather at the U.N. General Assembly in New York later this month.
Uyghur atrocities have long been documented, and Bachelet’s investigation, launched six years ago, has been lethargic. It came under fire earlier this year when she visited China. The United States and leading human rights groups said she succumbed to Beijing protocol that made an independent assessment impossible. That the report came out at all surprised many experts.
Leading researcher Adrian Zenz highlighted one failing, a “watered down” section on forced sterilization that’s a key to a finding of genocide.
Zenz said:
Overall, the report is not perfect and a lot of available supporting evidence was not used. But it will provide a strong and authoritative basis going forward from here for holding Beijing accountable.
Pakistan: Aid groups and international teams are responding to catastrophic flooding brought on by the monsoon season—submerging a third of Pakistan, damaging more than 1 million homes, leaving half the country’s croplands underwater, and displacing 3 million people across six provinces. In 24 hours on Sept. 1, officials reported 19 people dead and more than 1,200 injured.
Unusual weather patterns contribute to the country receiving nearly twice as much rain than the 30-year average in the quarter through August this year.
Researchers and public officials also say that other factors have probably added to the devastation, including an ineffective early-warning system for floods, poor disaster management, political instability and unregulated urban development. A lack of water drainage and storage infrastructure, as well as the country’s large population living in flood zones, are probably other contributing factors. “These are governance issues, but they are minuscule in relation to the level of the tragedy that we are seeing occur,” says Malik Amin Aslam, former minister for climate change.
Nicaragua: Federal police stormed the home of a Catholic Bishop Rolando Álvarez in northern Nicaragua, detaining one of President Daniel Ortega’s most prominent remaining critics. The Catholic Church once sought to broker talks between Ortega and democracy activists, but instead found itself the target of his crackdown.
Argentina: A Brazilian national has been arrested after pointing a gun at Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as she greeted supporters outside her residence in Buenos Aires Thursday night.
What appears an assassination attempt is the latest drama for Kirchner, who was president from 2007-2015. Her expansive government spending sent the country’s economy into free-fall. In 2015 Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman accused her of covering up Iran’s role in a 1994 bombing of a Jewish center that left 85 dead. Nisman was murdered the night before he was to present evidence in the case. No convictions resulted in the bombing case or for Nisman’s murder.
Iran: Here’s a good overview of how U.S.-Iran negotiations have continued this week despite escalating on-the-ground clashes in Iraq and Syria.
Britain: In a sobering analysis of British National Health Service and U.S. VA data, the Financial Times found an increased risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular problems across every age group for those infected with Covid-19.
In a break with tradition, Queen Elizabeth will not appoint the next prime minister in London, but will instead remain at her home in Scotland. The new prime minister and Boris Johnson will go to her at Balmoral Castle to formalize the transition Sept. 6. Conservative Party members will vote Sept. 5 to elect Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak as new party leader, and Boris Johnson is expected to announce his resignation to the Queen the following day.
Russia: Former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev died Aug. 30 at 91. William Inboden has keen insights about the lessons from Gorbachev’s leadership, while Tom Nichols writes that Gorbachev was great because he failed. This 10-minute clip about the Reykjavik Summit in 1986 is worth your time.
Also: I spoke and they delivered: British historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook have two episodes this week in their new Tolkien podcast series. Happy Labor Day.
Interesting times!