The Xinjiang Controversy at the United Nations
Since July 2019, Xinjiang has been a topic of debate for the United Nations eight times. Each time, opposing joint statements supported and criticized China’s position in Xinjiang. In total, 86 countries have at one point signed a joint statement supporting China’s position in Xinjiang while 56 countries have at one point signed a joint statement criticizing China’s position in Xinjiang. Using 2022 population estimates, the pro-China camp comprises 3.93 billion people or 49.3% of the world total (of whom 2.50 billion or 31.4% of the world total are outside China), while the anti-China camp comprises 1.26 billion people or 15.8% of the world total.
In addition, some countries have separately supported or criticized China’s position in Xinjiang. This raises the tally to at least 98 countries supportive of China and 57 countries criticizing China. Notably, of the 57 countries that condemned China the vast majority (44) voted against a resolution “Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance” at the 76th General Assembly on November 4, 2022.
In each of the eight occasions of opposing joint statements, the countries supporting China outnumbered the countries criticizing China. In the 46th Session of the Human Rights Council lasting from February 22 to March 24, 2021, critics of China’s Xinjiang policy produced no joint statement, while Cuba delivered a 64-country joint statement, with State Councilor Wang Yi later reporting that more than 80 countries supported China’s position in Xinjiang. Likewise, at the 51st Session of the Human Rights Council from September 12 to October 7, 2022, Pakistan delivered a joint statement on behalf of 68 countries with no directly opposing statement. (However, the same session voted on October 6 to reject a US-sponsored motion to debate the human rights situation in Xinjiang, by 19 to 17 with 11 abstentions.)
The joint statement battles are as follow:
74th General Assembly, October 2019: 54-24
77th General Assembly Third Committee, October 2023: 72-51
Accounting for other joint statements and individual statements either expressly supporting China’s position in Xinjiang or opposing the politicization of human rights, the tallies of the two “camps” result in:
74th General Assembly: 56-25
75th General Assembly: 67-40
Green = Countries that supported China’s position on Xinjiang in a joint statement at least once
Red = Countries that criticized China’s position on Xinjiang in a joint statement at least once*
*Note: Bosnia and Herzegovina signed a critical statement at the 47th HRC session but later withdrew its signature. Similarly, Fiji signed a critical statement at the 78th General Assembly, but later withdrew its signature. Two countries (Somalia and Honduras) have at some point signed both supportive and critical statements.
Green = Countries that voted in favor of US-sponsored draft resolution A/HRC/51/L.6 for a debate on Xinjiang at the 51st HRC session
Red = Countries that voted against draft resolution A/HRC/51/L.6
Yellow = Countries that abstained on draft resolution A/HRC/51/L.6
Table of Countries Supporting China on Xinjiang
Red = Deliverer of the Joint Statement
Blue = Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, a 17-country group formed in March 2021
Countries that supported China on its Xinjiang policy in a separate statement*
Countries that supported China by issuing a separate statement opposing the politicization of human rights**
41st HRC [50] | 74th GA [54] | 44th HRC [46] | 75th GA [45] | 47th HRC [68] | 50th HRC [69] | 76th GA [66] | 77th GA [72] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Algeria | Algeria | Algeria | Algeria | Algeria | |||
Angola | Angola | Angola | |||||
Antigua and Barbuda | Antigua and Barbuda | Antigua and Barbuda | Antigua and Barbuda | Antigua and Barbuda | |||
Bahrain | Bahrain | Bahrain | Bahrain | Bahrain | Bahrain | Bahrain | |
Bangladesh | Bangladesh | Bangladesh | |||||
Belarus | Belarus | Belarus | Belarus | Belarus | Belarus | Belarus | Belarus |
Benin | Benin | Benin | Benin | ||||
Bolivia | Bolivia | Bolivia | Bolivia | Bolivia | Bolivia | ||
Burkina Faso | Burkina Faso | Burkina Faso* | Burkina Faso | Burkina Faso | Burkina Faso | Burkina Faso | |
Burundi | Burundi | Burundi | Burundi | Burundi | Burundi | Burundi | Burundi |
Cambodia | Cambodia | Cambodia | Cambodia | Cambodia | Cambodia | Cambodia | Cambodia |
Cameroon | Cameroon | Cameroon | Cameroon | Cameroon | Cameroon | Cameroon | Cameroon |
Central African Republic | Central African Republic | Central African Republic | Central African Republic | Central African Republic | Central African Republic | Central African Republic | |
Chad | Chad** | Chad | |||||
China | China | China | China | China | China | China | |
Comoros | Comoros | Comoros | Comoros | Comoros | Comoros | Comoros | Comoros |
Congo (Kinshasa) | Congo (Kinshasa) | Congo (Kinshasa) | |||||
Congo (Brazzaville) | Congo (Brazzaville) | Congo (Brazzaville) | Congo (?) | Congo (?) | Congo (Brazzaville) | Congo (Brazzaville) | Congo (Brazzaville) |
Cuba | Cuba | Cuba | Cuba | Cuba | Cuba | Cuba | Cuba |
Djibouti | Djibouti | Djibouti | Djibouti | Djibouti | Djibouti | Djibouti | |
Dominica | Dominica | Dominica | Dominica | Dominica | |||
Egypt | Egypt | Egypt | Egypt | Egypt | Egypt | Egypt | Egypt |
El Salvador | El Salvador | ||||||
Equatorial Guinea | Equatorial Guinea | Equatorial Guinea | Equatorial Guinea | Equatorial Guinea | Equatorial Guinea | Equatorial Guinea | Equatorial Guinea |
Eritrea | Eritrea | Eritrea | Eritrea | Eritrea | Eritrea | Eritrea | Eritrea |
Ethiopia* | Ethiopia** | Ethiopia | Ethiopia | Ethiopia | Ethiopia | ||
Gabon | Gabon | Gabon | Gabon | Gabon | Gabon | Gabon | |
Gambia | Gambia | Gambia | Gambia | ||||
Grenada | Grenada | Grenada | Grenada | ||||
Guinea | Guinea | Guinea | Guinea | Guinea | Guinea | Guinea | |
Guinea-Bissau | Guinea-Bissau | Guinea-Bissau | Guinea-Bissau | Guinea-Bissau | Guinea-Bissau | Guinea-Bissau | |
Honduras | |||||||
Iran | Iran | Iran | Iran | Iran | Iran | Iran | Iran |
Iraq | Iraq | Iraq | Iraq | Iraq | Iraq | Iraq | Iraq |
Kazakhstan** | Kazakhstan | ||||||
Kenya | |||||||
Kiribati | Kiribati | Kiribati | Kiribati | Kiribati | |||
Korea (DPRK) | Korea (DPRK) | Korea (DPRK) | Korea (DPRK) | Korea (DPRK) | Korea (DPRK) | Korea (DPRK) | Korea (DPRK) |
Kuwait | Kuwait** | Kuwait** | |||||
Kyrgyzstan* | Kyrgyzstan** | Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyzstan | ||
Laos | Laos | Laos | Laos | Laos | Laos | Laos | Laos |
Lebanon** | Lebanon | ||||||
Lesotho | Lesotho** | ||||||
Libya | Libya | Libya | Libya | ||||
Madagascar | Madagascar | ||||||
Mali | Mali | Mali | |||||
Mauritania | Mauritania | Mauritania | Mauritania | Mauritania | |||
Morocco | Morocco | Morocco | Morocco | Morocco | |||
Mozambique | Mozambique | Mozambique | Mozambique | Mozambique | Mozambique | Mozambique | Mozambique |
Myanmar | Myanmar | Myanmar | Myanmar | Myanmar | Myanmar | Myanmar | Myanmar |
Nepal | Nepal | Nepal | Nepal | Nepal | Nepal | Nepal | Nepal |
Nicaragua | Nicaragua | Nicaragua | Nicaragua | Nicaragua | Nicaragua | Nicaragua | |
Niger | Niger | Niger | Niger | Niger | Niger | ||
Nigeria | Nigeria | Nigeria | Nigeria | ||||
Oman | Oman | Oman | Oman** | Oman** | |||
Pakistan | Pakistan | Pakistan | Pakistan | Pakistan | Pakistan | Pakistan | Pakistan |
Palestine | Palestine | Palestine | Palestine | Palestine | Palestine | Palestine | Palestine |
Papua New Guinea | Papua New Guinea** | Papua New Guinea | Papua New Guinea | Papua New Guinea | Papua New Guinea | ||
Philippines | Philippines | Philippines | |||||
Russia | Russia | Russia | Russia | Russia | Russia | Russia | Russia |
Sao Tome and Principe | Sao Tome and Principe | Sao Tome and Principe | Sao Tome and Principe | ||||
Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia* | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia |
Serbia | Serbia | Serbia | Serbia | Serbia | Serbia | Serbia | |
Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone | |||
Solomon Islands | Solomon Islands | Solomon Islands | Solomon Islands | Solomon Islands | Solomon Islands | ||
Somalia | Somalia | Somalia | |||||
South Sudan | South Sudan | South Sudan | South Sudan | South Sudan | South Sudan | South Sudan | South Sudan |
Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka |
Sudan | Sudan | Sudan | Sudan | Sudan | Sudan | Sudan | Sudan |
Suriname | Suriname | Suriname | Suriname | Suriname | Suriname | ||
Syria | Syria | Syria | Syria | Syria | Syria | Syria | Syria |
Tajikistan | Tajikistan** | Tajikistan | Tajikistan | Tajikistan | Tajikistan | ||
Tanzania | Tanzania | Tanzania** | |||||
Togo | Togo | Togo | Togo | Togo | Togo | Togo | Togo |
Tonga | Tonga | Tonga | |||||
Tunisia | |||||||
Turkmenistan | Turkmenistan | Turkmenistan | Turkmenistan | ||||
Uganda | Uganda | Uganda | Uganda | Uganda | Uganda | Uganda | |
United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates |
Uzbekistan | Uzbekistan | Uzbekistan | |||||
Vanuatu | Vanuatu | Vanuatu | |||||
Venezuela | Venezuela | Venezuela | Venezuela | Venezuela | Venezuela | Venezuela | Venezuela |
Yemen | Yemen | Yemen | Yemen | Yemen | Yemen | Yemen | |
Zambia | Zambia | Zambia | Zambia | Zambia | |||
Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe |
Azerbaijan** | |||||||
Cabo Verde** | |||||||
Cote d'Ivoire** | |||||||
Ecuador** | |||||||
Indonesia** | |||||||
Jordan** | |||||||
Maldives** | Maldives** | ||||||
Qatar** | Qatar** | ||||||
Singapore** | |||||||
South Africa** | South Africa** | ||||||
Timor-Leste** | |||||||
Vietnam** |
Table of Countries Criticizing China on Xinjiang
Red = Deliverer of the Joint Statement
Orange = NATO
Country that criticized China on Xinjiang in a separate statement*
Later withdrew**
41st HRC [22] | 74th GA [24] | 44th HRC [27] | 75th GA [39] | 47th HRC [42] | 50th HRC [47] | 76th GA [50] | 77th GA [51] | Condemn Nazism? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albania | Albania | Albania | Albania | Albania | Albania | no | ||
Andorra | Andorra | Andorra | no | |||||
Australia | Australia | Australia | Australia | Australia | Australia | Australia | Australia | no |
Austria | Austria | Austria | Austria | Austria | Austria | Austria | Austria | no |
Belgium | Belgium | Belgium | Belgium | Belgium | Belgium | Belgium | Belgium | no |
Belize | Belize | Belize | Belize | yes | ||||
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnia and Herzegovina** | no | ||||||
Bulgaria | Bulgaria | Bulgaria | Bulgaria | Bulgaria | no | |||
Canada | Canada | Canada | Canada | Canada | Canada | Canada | Canada | no |
Croatia | Croatia | Croatia | Croatia | Croatia | no | |||
Czech Republic | Czech Republic | Czech Republic | Czech Republic | no | ||||
Denmark | Denmark | Denmark | Denmark | Denmark | Denmark | Denmark | Denmark | no |
Estonia | Estonia | Estonia | Estonia | Estonia | Estonia | Estonia | Estonia | no |
Eswatini | Eswatini | Eswatini | didn't vote | |||||
Finland | Finland | Finland | Finland | Finland | Finland | Finland | Finland | no |
France | France | France | France | France | France | France | France | no |
Germany | Germany | Germany | Germany | Germany | Germany | Germany | Germany | no |
Guatemala | Guatemala | Guatemala | yes | |||||
Haiti | Haiti | yes | ||||||
Honduras | Honduras | Honduras | yes | |||||
Iceland | Iceland | Iceland | Iceland | Iceland | Iceland | Iceland | Iceland | no |
Ireland | Ireland | Ireland | Ireland | Ireland | Ireland | Ireland | Ireland | no |
Israel | Israel | Israel | Israel | yes | ||||
Italy | Italy | Italy | Italy | Italy | no | |||
Japan | Japan | Japan | Japan | Japan | Japan | Japan | Japan | no |
Latvia | Latvia | Latvia | Latvia | Latvia | Latvia | Latvia | Latvia | no |
Liberia | Liberia | Liberia | no | |||||
Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein | no | |
Lithuania | Lithuania | Lithuania | Lithuania | Lithuania | Lithuania | Lithuania | Lithuania | no |
Luxembourg | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | no |
Marshall Islands | Marshall Islands | Marshall Islands | Marshall Islands | Marshall Islands | Marshall Islands | no | ||
Moldova | no | |||||||
Monaco | Monaco | Monaco | Monaco | Monaco | no | |||
Montenegro | Montenegro | Montenegro | no | |||||
Nauru | Nauru | Nauru | yes | |||||
Netherlands | Netherlands | Netherlands | Netherlands | Netherlands | Netherlands | Netherlands | Netherlands | no |
New Zealand | New Zealand | New Zealand | New Zealand | New Zealand | New Zealand | New Zealand | New Zealand | no |
North Macedonia | North Macedonia | North Macedonia | North Macedonia | no | ||||
Norway | Norway | Norway | Norway | Norway | Norway | Norway | Norway | no |
Palau | Palau | Palau | Palau | Palau | Palau | abstain | ||
Paraguay | yes | |||||||
Poland | Poland | Poland | Poland | Poland | no | |||
Portugal | Portugal | Portugal | Portugal | no | ||||
Romania | Romania | Romania | Romania | no | ||||
San Marino | San Marino | San Marino | San Marino | no | ||||
Slovakia | Slovakia | Slovakia | Slovakia | Slovakia | Slovakia | no | ||
Slovenia | Slovenia | Slovenia | Slovenia | Slovenia | Slovenia | no | ||
Somalia | didn't vote | |||||||
Spain | Spain | Spain | Spain | Spain | Spain | no | ||
Sweden | Sweden | Sweden | Sweden | Sweden | Sweden | Sweden | Sweden | no |
Switzerland | Switzerland | Switzerland | Switzerland | Switzerland | Switzerland | Switzerland | abstain | |
Turkey* | Turkey* | Turkey* | Turkey | abstain | ||||
Tuvalu | didn't vote | |||||||
Ukraine** | Ukraine | Ukraine | no | |||||
United Kingdom | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | no |
United States | United States | United States | United States | United States | United States | no | ||
Malta* | no |