Facts

• On Thursday, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) rejected a Western-led motion to hold a debate on alleged Chinese human rights abuses after a UN report concluded that China's actions against the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang may constitute crimes against humanity.
• The motion for a debate was defeated by a vote of 19 to 17, with 11 countries abstaining. A number of the countries that voted "no" were Muslim-majority nations, such as Indonesia, Somalia, Pakistan, the UAE, and Qatar.
• The proposal was co-sponsored by the UK, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Australia, and Lithuania. The US envoy to the UNHRC, Michele Taylor, said she was disappointed by the vote, adding, "we will continue...to seek justice and accountability for victims of human rights abuses and violations."
• Meanwhile, Hua Chunying, China’s foreign affairs spokesperson, said via Twitter that "human rights must not be used as a pretext to make up lies and interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, or to contain, coerce & humiliate others.”
• The defeat is only the second time in the council's 16-year history that a motion has been rejected, as well as the first time that China's human rights record has been brought to the table.
• China has faced increasing scrutiny over its treatment of Muslims and other ethnic minorities in recent years, with the US and other Western nations describing the situation as "genocide," which China vehemently denies.