World must confront China, protect the vulnerable

In 2013, World Without Genocide, a human rights organization I direct, applied for consultative status at the United Nations. Our application was deferred.

We have since been deferred 18 times, twice a year since 2013.

We are not alone. Our organization is small, but even some big guys have been deferred. The U.N.'s 19-member Committee on Nongovernmental Organizations has voted no on the application of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) six times. China and Russia, where journalists are imprisoned in record numbers, led the "no" votes.

Over 6,000 NGOs from around the world have consultative status, affording them access to U.N. groups and meetings and visibility from U.N. affiliation.

Why would we be denied consultative status? We educate about genocides past and present and advocate for legislation to prevent genocide. We support U.N. goals and practices. We expected approval.

When CPJ's application was rejected, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power called the action "outrageous." She told NPR, "The NGO committee acts more like an 'anti-NGO committee.'"

Several years ago, I met with someone who spoke confidentially about our deferrals. China, I was told, will never allow approval of our application because we publicly excoriate China's abuses against the Uyghurs and Tibetans in China, the Rohingya in Myanmar, and the Hmong in Laos.

China is a behemoth at the U.N., influencing major U.N. bodies — including the Committee on Nongovernmental Organizations. We are small potatoes, but a hot potato, nevertheless.

China is one of five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. If any permanent member vetoes a resolution, it is defeated. The Security Council therefore cannot protect vulnerable minorities because China vetoes resolutions for peacekeeping, watchdogs, sanctions or intervention.

China needs oil, gas, water and minerals to fuel its drive for global economic control. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013 to bring these resources into China with roads, rail lines, airports, bridges and port city developments in 143 countries.

China gives "loans" to countries for infrastructure projects. The loans essentially guarantee debtor nations' support for China's politics regardless of abuses against people who are in the way. The Uyghurs, Tibetans, Rohingya and Hmong are terrorized as China removes them to extract resources from areas they occupy.

Spain uses universal jurisdiction to prosecute people for perpetrating genocide anywhere in the world. A Tibetan Spanish citizen charged China's leaders with genocide in Tibet. The case was brought to a Spanish court.

Spain abruptly dropped the case in 2014 and changed laws to prevent future cases against China — perhaps responding to BRI negotiations in Spain. China leverages "loans" for legal impunity.

Human rights groups want the 2022 Olympic Winter Games moved from Beijing because of China's abuses. A bill in the U.S. House urges a move or a boycott, but lucrative marketing contracts apparently outweigh standing up against abuse. The current diplomatic boycott appears to be merely a symbolic effort.

The U.S. Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act allows for sanctions against Chinese officials who violate Uyghur human rights and requires FBI protection for Uyghurs in the U.S. from CCP intimidation.

The U.S., the E.U. member nations, the U.K., and Canada imposed sanctions against CCP members in 2021 for treatment of the Uyghurs. China retaliated with sanctions against Europeans for "maliciously spreading lies and disinformation."

The Independent People's Tribunal, jurists who appear impervious to CCP intimidation, investigated Uyghur persecution. The tribunal announced its findings Dec. 9. Although not legally binding, the results document China's actions against the Uyghurs as genocide and urge a global response.

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, 200 parliamentarians from 21 countries including the U.S., organized to hold China to international laws, human rights and to address security challenges from China.

World Without Genocide is a flea facing a behemoth. Because we speak out against China's abuses, we probably will never receive U.N. consultative status. The bigger issue is whether world leaders will ever protect vulnerable people.

Ellen J. Kennedy is executive director, World Without Genocide at Mitchell Hamline School of Law.