China on Wednesday condemned Israel’s recent decision to join a multination declaration at the United Nations criticizing Beijing’s human rights record, saying some countries were “slandering China under the pretext of human rights while ignoring the facts.”
Israel’s move, taken about a week ago, marked an unusual shift in its policy toward China. Successive Israeli governments have generally avoided signing such statements in order to preserve diplomatic and economic ties with Beijing. Israel has joined only a few similar declarations in the past, most recently in 2021.
The statement, initiated by the United States and published on November 21 on the website of the U.S. Mission to the UN, was signed by 15 countries, including the United States, Britain, Australia and Japan.
In its response, China’s Foreign Ministry said “China has always placed great importance on protecting and respecting human rights, working to improve them in line with contemporary conditions and national circumstances.” The ministry accused the signatories of “slandering and smearing China” and of interfering in its internal affairs “in serious violation of international law and basic norms of international relations.” China said it “strongly opposes and firmly condemns these actions.”
The signatory states expressed “deep and ongoing concerns” about human rights violations in China, highlighting targeted repression of ethnic and religious minority groups. The concerns include arbitrary detentions, forced labor, unlawful mass surveillance and restrictions on religious and cultural expression.
The declaration states that minority groups — particularly Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, Christians, Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners and others — face targeted repression that includes separating children from families in boarding facilities, torture and the destruction of cultural heritage.
The countries called on the People’s Republic of China to release all those unjustly detained for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms and to fully comply with international law.
They also voiced “deep concern” over the erosion of civil liberties and the rule of law in Hong Kong, including arrest warrants and fines for activists outside the territory for exercising free expression. The declaration said state censorship and surveillance, both online and offline, are used to control information, limit public debate and punish those who challenge official narratives, creating a “climate of fear” intended to silence criticism.