Human Rights Council
by Cynthia Atuchukwu
The second day of the Human Rights Council’s meeting focused on the amendment to the resolution on the human trafficking crisis in Libya and the need to label the Uyghur-Chinese conflict as “Genocide,” including drafting its resolution. Ms. Celine Pare presided over the conference, and 11 delegates attended the conference. There were no delegates from Egypt, Greece, and Turkey present at the meeting. We recorded a total of ten breakout room meetings, and each session lasted 30 minutes.
The Commonwealth of Australia delegate, Ms. Taira Sow, began the session by apologizing to the chair and expressing gratitude for the last session's constructive criticism. Ms. Sow expressed in her speech that she has realized her ignorance and the bilateral relations they have with some of the delegates present through the research conducted by her department. The Australian delegate expresses that the "humanitarian aid being offered by the country to Libya will be executed professionally." Ms. Sow asked other delegates not to send any soldiers to support any government or militia group in the region - as it will undermine its authority and may create further tension. The delegate further stated that it modified the resolution, specifically clause 6 (c), to include new findings. China's representative asked Australia's delegate to explain further where it prefers to deploy soldiers on the Libyan border. Ms. Sow asserts that the Commonwealth of Australia does not intend to infringe on Libya's sovereignty. The delegate declared that they could not confirm which of the Libyan borders its soldiers will be positioned while stressing that they still need to consult with the other parties involved - Libya and Italy.
In response to the Chinese delegate's question on where the soldiers should be placed, the Libyan delegate Ms. Fatuma Yusuf asserts that the soldiers will be assigned at all the borders, including the three checkpoints. Ms. Fatuma expressed how the passing of the resolution will bring a ray of sunshine for the Libyan citizens and help curb human trafficking in the country. The delegate noted its willingness to work closely with Italy as the country is the gateway to Europe for most victims of trafficking in person. Most of the delegates experienced a poor network explaining why most of their cameras were turned off at intervals during the conference. The Russian delegate demanded further clarification on the borders' checks - “What will be specifically checked at the borders?” "Is it passports, visas, and the well-being of migrants?” Ms. Sow responded that checks will extend to the illegal routes being used by both traffickers and smugglers while stating that there is no answer to what would be checked at the border as they are yet to finalize the statute. She accentuated that the checks are solely targeted at traffickers and smugglers.
The Russian delegate requested a written agreement on what the border inspections would be, including the international funding and aid directly handed to the people and not the Libyan government. The delegate asserts that the borders be managed by neutral agencies such as non-governmental organizations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), International Organization for Migration (IOM), and United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). Further affirmed that due to some nation's acceptance of one government over another, there will always be an element of politics involved in the crisis's discourse. Hence, they believe using the United Nations agency or civil society will be the unbiased approach needed in rending the humanitarian support Libya needs. According to the World Bank, “Civil society refers to a wide array of organizations: community groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), labor unions, indigenous groups, charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, and foundations.”
The Chinese delegate asserts that they believe that the border checks are not beneficial as it affects their “trade relations with Libya including several Chinese businesses in the region and will further cause economic depletion from the Libyan people.” The Commonwealth of Australia disagrees and asserted that the checkpoints have nothing to do with the trade relations in the region, and its only focus is on “human traffickers and smugglers in Libya.” The Syrian delegate proposed that instead of border checks, there should be a law against the "procurement of sex and prohibit countries in demanding it," thereby closing the sex market in the region, which would stop sex trafficking. The Syrian delegate's proposition may intensify the human trafficking crisis in the region if implemented as the traffickers will be forced to change their route, ending up targeting other countries. They may transition to other forms of human trafficking such as organ harvesting, child bride, labor trafficking, or recruitment of children into militia groups, as explained in the last session by the honorable chair Isabella Myers. The Libyan delegate agrees with Syria on the need for laws that criminalize the procurement of sex, including the border checks proposed by Ms. Sow.
The United States (U.S.) delegate, Carolyn Cain, stated in her speech that Russia and China had not proposed an agreeable resolution. They would not submit a joint resolution rather draft their resolution. After several debates among delegates, they passed a resolution with two amendments. The resolution calls for the criminalization of all forms of human trafficking, requesting that all the UN members commit to the fight against human trafficking, and border protections through the UN agencies. On the other hand, the delegates could not agree on a resolution for the Uyghur conflict. During the conference, we observed how nations form alliances and how former allies turn adversary. We saw how Italy, the United Kingdom (U.K), France, the Commonwealth of Australia, and the U.S allied to pass the Uyghur-Chinese conflict resolution.
In contrast, the Republic of China, Libya, Syria, Russia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, United Arab Emirates (UAE) formed the opposition. Although Libya and Nigeria condemn the gross human rights violation in the Xinjiang region, they will support China based on their bilateral relations. The Libyan delegate expressed that due to its good relations with the U.S and European nations, it will "remain neutral" and prioritize a country’s sovereignty because they believe no one should meddle in another country’s internal affairs.
The Chinese delegate emphasized its country’s ban on Western media, alleging that they are the root cause of the wild spread misinformation about the Xinjiang region's crisis. Australia, Italy, U.K, U.S, and France delegates expressed that they are feel boxed in a corner as China has a strong economic influence on both the European and African nations. The Italian delegate highlighted that the Chinese import into the country compared to its export is higher and noted that any form of sanction on China would significantly impact the Italian economy, given that they are “broke.” Ms. Cain expressed how displeasure about the delegates' reluctance to term the Uyghur conflict in China as “genocide.” During the negotiations, China uses its trade influence as a political and economic pressure tool on delegates to pass its resolution.
Australia, UK, Italy called out the UAE, Nigeria, and Libya on why they support a country that violates its Muslim citizens' rights, given that they have a significant amount of Muslim citizens in their countries. The Nigerian delegate, Ms. Olamide, responded that there had been no extremist attacks in the Xinjiang region for over three years. Ms. Olamide expressed in her speech that Nigeria understands and supports China's decision. The country has experienced several extremist attacks in its Northern region and understands the "impact insecurity has on a nation." A credible source informed us that Nigeria is biased in the Uyghur-Chinese conflict because of the bilateral relations it has with China and also the country's current security crisis and poverty. Nigeria wants strong allies in its fight against terrorism and will not be swayed by the other delegates. In the last letter sent to the UN, the Chinese delegate cited that about 37 countries supported China, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and UAE. The delegate state that its security policy “condemns extremism, not Islam,” and why shouldn’t Islamic nations condemn it too. The UAE delegate pointed out that Islam is non-violent religion, and the vocational centers by the Chinese will improve people’s working skills, livelihood, and security in the Xinjiang region.
During the session, it could be seen that there was tension between Russia and the Commonwealth of Australia when the latter allegedly used the words “so-called religion” in their description of the de-radicalization camps and the Muslim community, which the Russian delegate found to be derogatory. Ms. Sow apologized but stated that the Russian delegate misunderstood them and that they are a "democratic and liberal nation and would not use such words." Ms. Olamide once again expressed that the Nigerian government supports China as they are among the 17 African countries whose signatories are in the letter sent to the UN in support of China’s position and action during the conflict in the Xinjiang region. China's delegate pointed out that the Xinjiang region's security is of "vital importance to China and the global economy."
The UAE submitted a resolution to the chair for a vote. Ms. Sow and Ms. Cain presented two amendments to the chair. Ms. Cain’s amendment proposes that China reinstate the Uyghurs’peoples human rights by allowing them to obtain a passport. The Chinese delegate argued against the amendment's approval on the premise that every Chinese citizen is entitled to a Chinese passport except Macau and Hong Kong that use a different passport. The delegate further asserted that the Uyghurs who can not obtain a Chinese passport are in those vocational camps. The UAE delegate agrees with China and argued that if they do not have a passport, it is then a matter of international law and further questioned the authenticity of the sources behind the non-passport for the Uyghur citizens in response to the alleged accusations made by the U.S delegate. The delegate affirms that the reports issued by the Chinese government are credible. Ms. Cain, on the other hand, declared that its sources were credible and went on to name their source - the UN and asked if they are stating that the UN report is inaccurate and want to go against the UN advocacy.
Ms. Sow's amendments demand that the “UN representatives should have a secure (not controlled) tour of Xinjiang including an inspection of the medical centers, living space, and WASH facilities of the Uyghurs with the presence of neutral media.” WASH is an acronym that stands for "water, sanitation, and hygiene." China, Russia, and UAE asserted that the amendment was not necessary and irrelevant to the whole body of the resolution and should be voted to be struck out. The Chinese delegated emphasized that there is “No separate medical center,” and the medical center is in the vocational center; therefore, there is no need for separate inspection. Furthermore, the delegate stated it would only vote to pass the resolution on the agreement that the Chinese will choose the most secure and controlled center for the UN representative to examine and asserts that the UN and EU representatives will be high targets of extremists in the Xinjiang region. The delegate expressed that should anything happen; it will have an immense impact on China, hence, why it argues for the inclusion of "secure and controlled centers" into the resolution.
The delegates cast their vote for the amendment of Clause 2(c) and 4. The chair declares that the majority of 6 won on the vote for the amendment clause 2c and clause 4. Clause 2c was removed, and Clause 4 passed. The delegates went on to cast a vote for the passing of the resolution. The resolution was passed by the majority vote of 6 -5. After 30 minutes of deliberation, the U.K passed a motion for an unmoderated caucus for 27 minutes, second by Italy. However, UAE objected and passed a motion for the suspension of the meeting for the day on the basis that there have been too many unmoderated caucuses in the conference. The chair accepted the motion and adjourned the session for the next day with an order that the resolution is submitted the following day before the session's commencement.
We watch to see if any of the delegates will be swayed in tomorrow's conference into becoming an Australian ally and which of these states will be flipped into voting to pass the new resolution. Would it be Libya, UAE, or Nigeria?
