Weaponizing human rights compounds US' shame: China Daily editorial

That more than 60 countries at the Third Committee of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in a joint statement on Oct 31 expressed opposition to interference in China's internal affairs under the pretext of human rights speaks volumes about how the big stick policy of the United States and some other Western countries is on the wrong side of the majority of the UN members.

The US and some other Western countries introduced a draft decision at the UN Human Rights Council early in October for a debate next year on alleged human rights abuses in China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

To the disappointment of the US and its allies, in a vote the council rejected the decision, which suggests that the majority of countries are clear what the US and its allies are doing and what it means when the US and its allies talk about human rights issues in other countries.

Yet without feeling embarrassed about its failure at the UN Human Rights Council, the US and its followers raised the issue again at the Third Committee of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly. Not least because they have no other options with which to badmouth China than to hype up alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

What is ridiculous is the fact that it is such an overused tactic that many a country, developing ones in particular, knows very well that the US and its allies are not really concerned about human rights. Instead, they have qualms about China's rise as a major rival to them when it comes to its economic might.

The US is the country that has launched and got involved in most of the military conflicts or even invasions of other countries since World War II. And every one of them has been a human rights disaster. But the US and its allies do not care about that.

Their allegations of human rights abuses are intended to not only smear China but also distract attention from their own human rights transgressions. The alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang are just lies as the effective crackdown on terrorism has resulted in long-lasting social stability in this region, which has helped promote its economic development. As a result, the region has enjoyed the highest economic growth rate in its history and local residents' income has increased by the largest margin in recent years.

Turning a blind eye to these achievements that safeguard the basic human rights of all Xinjiang residents, politicians in the US and its allies have politicized human rights issues, which is against the norms as well as justice and fairness of international relations.

It is high time that the US and its allies changed their attitude toward human rights issues and held dialogues with other countries on an equal footing to really promote the development of human rights.