NEW YORK (AP) — Diplomats and human rights advocates speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly are calling for forceful action on China’s alleged persecution of ethnic minorities. Abuses in the far western region of Xinjiang have been exposed for years by watchdogs and journalists, but were given a new imprimatur with a report released by the U.N.’s human rights office last month detailing a ruthless campaign of torture and ethnic cleansing. Fernand de Varennes, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on minority rights, said Monday that “inaction is no longer possible” and “if we allow this to go unpunished what kind of message is being propagated?” China has called the report “a patchwork of false information.”
On sidelines of UN, a push for China’s abuses to be punished
