UN Neglecting China’s Human Rights Abuses, Claims Whistleblower

The United Nations is neglecting human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) because of Beijing’s diplomatic and financial influence, claims whistleblower Emma Reilly. “There is an actual policy that the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the secretary-general, and various other senior officials do not meet … with Uyghurs, Tibetans, Taiwanese, Falun Gong, anyone that might upset China,” Reilly, a human rights attorney and former U.N. employee told Epoch TV. Reilly had exposed the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for handing the names of dissidents and human rights activists to the Chinese regime, in violation of rules. “That resulted inevitably in the Chinese government sending police to people’s family homes, the arrest of people’s family members, being forced … to tell them … [about] their international advocacy,” she said. “Some truly horrible stories of torture [emerged as well].” In 2013, Reilly, who worked at the OHCHR, reported this practice to her superiors and other U.N. offices but to no avail. She faced retaliation and was eventually sacked in November last year. According to the whistleblower, the U.N. Human Rights Council and the OHCHR try to avoid criticizing China. Chinese diplomats regularly exert pressure on U.N. employees to influence the content of their reports on human rights abuses, she alleged.