Key Points
- It is only the second time in the council's 16-year history that a motion has been rejected.
- The move came after former UN rights chief released her long-delayed Xinjiang report.
The Australian government has expressed its disappointment after the United Nations Human Rights Council failed to agree to debate serious allegations of persecution of minorities in China.
The Human Rights Council (HRC) voted down a motion to hold a debate about allegations of human rights abuses being carried out against minorities including Muslims and Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region.
It comes after the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' (OHCHR) re had occurred in Xinjiang that may constitute crimes against humanity.
Human rights groups accuse China of abuses against Uyghur people, a group of about 10 million, including forced labour in internment camps.
China vigorously denies any abuses.
The council's inability to hold the debate was a disappointment to Australia, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told news agency AAP.
"Australia, and many in the international community, have long held grave concerns about reports of severe human rights violations in Xinjiang," the spokesperson said.
"The findings in the OHCHR report on Xinjiang were harrowing and corroborated many of these reports."
The result of the vote did not undermine the findings of the report, and its contents cannot be ignored by the international community, the spokesperson added.
"The Australian government will continue to raise concerns about human rights violations in Xinjiang and call on the Chinese government to meet its international human rights obligations and address the concerns raised in the OHCHR report," the spokesperson said.
Australia had moved with a group of other nations, including the United States, Canada and Sweden, noting the OHCHR report and calling for the debate to take place next year.
The vote, 19 opposing, 17 for and 11 abstaining, is the second time in the HCR's history a motion of that type has been rejected.
Qatar, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan voted against it, with Pakistan saying holding the forum risked alienating China.
An envoy for China had warned other nations if the vote were successful it would set a precedent where all countries' human rights records could be examined.
"This is a disaster. This is really disappointing," president of the World Uyghur Congress, Dolkun Isa, said.
Ms Isa, whose mother died in a camp and whose two brothers are missing, said her community was disappointed by the result, but would never give up.
