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New Zealand draws back from calling Chinese abuses of Uyghurs genocide
Source: The Guardian
New Zealand draws back from calling Chinese abuses of Uyghurs genocide
Parliament will not debate motion and will instead discuss rights abuses in more general terms
Tess McClure in Christchurch, New Zealand
@tessairini
Tue 4 May 2021 11.13 BST
New Zealand’s parliament will not debate a motion that would label the abuses of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang, China, as acts of genocide.
Parliament opted instead on Tuesday to water down the language, and discuss concerns about human rights abuses in the region in more general terms.
It is expected the new motion will pass unanimously on Wednesday. However, it marks no deviation from the country’s current position.
The foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, had already put out a statement in March, voicing “grave concerns about the growing number of credible reports of severe human rights abuses against ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang”.
The ACT party deputy leader and foreign affairs spokesperson, Brooke van Velden, filed the original motion. She said the Labour party, which holds a majority in New Zealand’s parliament, would not support the motion unless “genocide” was removed from its wording.
-snip-
Parliament will not debate motion and will instead discuss rights abuses in more general terms
Tess McClure in Christchurch, New Zealand
@tessairini
Tue 4 May 2021 11.13 BST
New Zealand’s parliament will not debate a motion that would label the abuses of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang, China, as acts of genocide.
Parliament opted instead on Tuesday to water down the language, and discuss concerns about human rights abuses in the region in more general terms.
It is expected the new motion will pass unanimously on Wednesday. However, it marks no deviation from the country’s current position.
The foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, had already put out a statement in March, voicing “grave concerns about the growing number of credible reports of severe human rights abuses against ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang”.
The ACT party deputy leader and foreign affairs spokesperson, Brooke van Velden, filed the original motion. She said the Labour party, which holds a majority in New Zealand’s parliament, would not support the motion unless “genocide” was removed from its wording.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/04/new-zealand-draws-back-from-calling-chinese-abuses-of-uyghurs-genocide