US calls on China to open Tibet for investigation

Item 4 General Debate Right of Reply to the People’s Republic of China
As delivered by Deputy Permanent Representative Kelly Billingsley
September 27, 2023

Original post: https://twitter.com/USAmbHRC/status/1707066575163887647

•Thank you, Mr. Vice President.  This Right of Reply is in response to the statement by the delegate from the People’s Republic of China.

•The PRC suggests the United States turn inward to address our own injustices. We have consistently stated at this Council that no nation, including the United States or the PRC, is above scrutiny.  Our Constitution begins with the aspiration “to form a more perfect union,” recognizing our imperfections but emphasizing our pursuit of improvement.  It is our willingness to confront and improve upon our shortcomings that sets us apart from countries that seek to shield themselves from scrutiny.  This commitment to transparency is why the United States has extended an open invitation to all thematic Special Procedures Mandate Holders. The PRC knows well that this is the case.

•We have welcomed multiple visits by Special Procedures in recent years, including the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues in late 2021, the Special Rapporteur for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism, and the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the context of Law Enforcement this year.  We will also soon receive a visit by the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism.

•We call on the People’s Republic of China to extend standing invitations to all thematic Special Procedure Mandate Holders and to begin welcoming visits by Special Procedures, however uncomfortable it may be.

•If, as China claims, people in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong enjoy stability, prosperity, and the full range of human rights, then China should have nothing to hide.

•But it is evident that a stark divide exists between countries that candidly confront their past misdeeds and those that unconvincingly reject any form of wrongdoing.

•The PRC’s repeated use of the Point of Order to stifle NGO voices in the Council is a stark testament to its fear of transparency; such tactics cannot and will not obscure the mounting evidence of ongoing genocide.

•True progress on human rights, both globally and domestically, demands unwavering openness, transparent self-reflection, and a deliberate move away from mere denial.

•As articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human dignity has no national boundaries.  As Martin Luther King Junior said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”