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| Image: Flickr User - Malcolm Brown |
By Rebiya Kadeer
Xi Jinping’s trip to the U.S. and address to the UN provide an opportunity to highlight abuses of Uyghur human rights.
The visit of Chinese president Xi Jinping to Washington, DC on September 24-25 comes at a critical time in the Sino-American relationship. Volatility in the Chinese economy, escalating tensions in the South China Sea, and cybersecurity are issues that will no doubt dominate the agenda as U.S. officials meet the Chinese delegation.
When a Chinese president arrives in Washington, it is essential that human rights issues also form part of the state-to state discussions. This time is no different. Uyghurs, Tibetans, Southern Mongolians, and Han Chinese see it as the moral responsibility of U.S. leaders to remind Chinese government representatives of their obligations to China’s citizens. President Obama must highlight the deteriorating human rights situation in China during Xi Jinping’s presidency. Restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly, curbs on religious rights and economic discrimination in China are severe and imperative to tackle, as they are major causes of domestic instability and human suffering.
While Xi’s U.S. visit has become the focus of media attention, it is also important to highlight his September 28 address to the United Nations (UN) and the role of the UN. The General Assembly this year marks the 70th anniversary of the UN and a plethora of global leaders are expected to descend upon New York.
The anniversary should mark a reexamination of the UN’s founding principles and a reinvestment in multilateral solutions to endemic injustice. Oppressed peoples the world over look to the United States to speak up against the proven autocrats and human rights abusers; however, it is a duty the United States should not bear alone.
Read the full story at The Diplomat