India has abstained from voting on a draft resolution at the UN Human Rights Council on holding a debate on the human rights situation in China's Xinjiang region. Besides India, 10 other countries abstained, which resulted in the draft getting rejected by a slim margin.
The draft resolution on "holding a debate on the situation of human rights in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China" was rejected by the 47-member Council after 17 members voted in favour, 19 members voted against, including China, and 11 abstentions.
The countries that abstained were Argentina, Armenia, Benin, Brazil, Gambia, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico and Ukraine. India did not give any reason for its abstention.
Draft resolution against China
The draft resolution was led by Western countries, including Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the US, and co-sponsored by other states, including Turkey. But China aggressive lobbying and diplomatic clout helped get a majority. In fact, China was able to get the support of all the Council's African countries, except Somalia.
![India among 11 countries to abstain from voting against China's human rights situation [details]](https://data1.ibtimes.co.in/en/full/776464/india-among-11-countries-abstain-voting-against-chinas-human-rights-situation-details.jpg?h=450&l=50&t=40 "India among 11 countries to abstain from voting against China's human rights situation [details]")
In South Asia, India abstained, but Nepal and Pakistan voted against the resolution. Among Muslim countries, Indonesia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates cast a negative ballot.
The UN rights office released a detailed report of the series of human rights violations in Xinjiang, which constitute crimes against humanity. But Beijing has denied all the allegations, including those of human rights groups, who highlighted the abuses faced by Uyghurs Muslims. The United States had accused China of genocide.
