Geneva: Diplomats said that China threatened to withhold Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccines destined for Ukraine unless it withdrew its support for a call for greater scrutiny of human rights in Xinjiang.
The Ukrainian government briefly joined a statement by more than 40 countries, presented by Canada on Tuesday at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, calling on China to allow independent observers immediate access to Xinjiang.
Human rights groups claim that Beijing is mistreating Muslims Uighurs and others in the region.
In Thursday’s decision, the Ukrainian government dropped out of the list of participating states after Chinese authorities warned Kiev that they would block an upcoming shipment of COVID-19 vaccine to Ukraine if it did not comply.
The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to review the matter publicly.
Ukrainian Minister of Healthcare Maxim Stepanov said that Ukraine has agreed to purchase 1.9 million doses of the CoronaVac vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech. In early last month, Ukraine received 1.2 million doses of the vaccine.
In the past, China has not been afraid to pressure other countries in Geneva diplomatic circles or in national capitals to align behind its statements or to refrain from endorsing statements that criticize, question or seek scrutiny of human rights in the country. However, the alleged pressure represents an escalation of recent efforts by Beijing to counter criticisms of its rights record, this time by jeopardizing people’s health and even their lives in an effort to minimize international attention, diplomats said. Western diplomats described it as ‘bare-knuckles diplomacy’ by China.
The other diplomat called it ‘reports of significant pressure in Kiev,’ adding that ‘last night the delegation told us they needed to pull out.’
Chinese Foreign Ministry officials and a spokesman for the Chinese diplomatic mission in Geneva didn’t respond to e-mail requests for comment.
The Ukrainian authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a statement released Tuesday, Leslie Norton, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations said ‘credible reports indicate that over a million people have been arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang.’
Norton’s statement was initially backed by 41 countries and is now backed by 44. Ukraine was briefly country No. 45.
Norton also pointed to ‘reports of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, forced sterilization, sexual and gender-based violence, and forced separation of children from their parents by authorities’ in China.
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