Today in The Geneva Observer:

A New Book on Qatargate Reveals Central Role of Qatar’s Minister of Labour and His Algerian Consigliere in Alleged Corruption Scandal

By Philippe Mottaz

The investigation into Qatargate, the biggest alleged corruption scandal to hit the European Parliament in years, has not yet yielded all its secrets. In Qatargate*, a new book by Louis Colart and Joël Matriche, the two investigative reporters for Brussels daily Le Soir reveal the central role played over several years by Qatar’s Labour Minister Dr. Ali bin Samikh Al Marri and his right-hand man Bettahar Boudjellal in the alleged money-for-influence scheme which rocked the European Parliament. 

“Qatar thought about the plan for months, or probably years: FIFA, buying PSG Football Club, the deal with the Unions, the ILO. The European Parliament was one link in the chain of its strategy of influence,” a source close to the Belgian investigation is quoted as saying in QatarGate.

A letter of intent between Dr. Al Marri, then president of Qatar’s National Committee on Human Rights, and Pier Antonio Panzeri, President of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights and one of the scandal’s main protagonists, mentions the “organization or follow up of the ILO Conventions,” thus suggesting that Doha’s efforts would reach as far as Geneva. The book does not reveal, however—it is not its focus—if Qatar’s alleged bribing of members of the European Parliament and of the then head of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) did, indeed, extend beyond the European institutions, to which the Belgian investigations are limited. “The biggest alleged corruption scandal of European democracy has not yet revealed all its magnitude,” the two well-sourced investigative reporters write, hinting at possible further disclosures.

Most of the revelations about the scandal will not be new to those who have followed the Qatargate saga as reported by Brussels-based media. But what makes their book a worthy read—without taking any credit away from their reporting—is that their investigative work is backed by documents emanating from the Belgian police and the country’s counter-espionage services. It is these leaked documents, excerpted at length below, that seem to leave no doubt that Dr. Al Marri and his consigliere Bettahar Boudjellal are the alleged mastermind and corruptors in the Qatargate affair. 

Presumption of innocence prevails, the co-authors of Qatargate rightly insist, both in their book and in an interview with The Geneva Observer today. But it is striking to read, based on police interrogations quoted in the book, that the two men were allegedly always deeply involved in doling out massive amounts of cash money to European members of parliament, in selecting union leaders to “support financially” in a “lobbying” effort whose sole obsessive purpose was to burnish Qatar’s image and quash the criticism of its human rights record.

As the book documents, such criticism was indeed toned down as a result of Qatar’s actions, and praise was elevated in Brussels. The position of the ITUC, once highly critical, softened. The ILO in Geneva, largely relying on the ITUC assessments, turned from “fierce critic” to “ally,” according to the New York Times—an accusation the organisation has vehemently rejected.

Reading Colart and Matriche’s book, which reveals how far—and to what potentially illegal lengths—Qatar was willing to go in its efforts, might leave readers in Geneva uneasy, particularly at the ILO. Recall that Qatar presided over last year’s International Labour Conference, and note that the organization has repeatedly praised progress made by the country in its labour practices. It is also in the process of extending its technical cooperation agreement with Doha. In the light of all this, didn’t the ILO—and other international organisations—end up freely offering Doha that very legitimacy it so craves, and allegedly paid to obtain from the European Parliament? All the while when, according to unions and NGOs, the plight of the poor migrant workers in the country is not improving.

-PHM

With the World Cup Spotlight Gone, Has Qatar Made Progress on Its Promised Labour Reforms? No, Says a Global Union in a Recent Internal Report; Yes, Says the ILO—Calling Them “Significant”

Locally international

THE GENEVA OBSERVERThe G|O

An interview with Louis Colart and Joël Matriche

Philippe Mottaz: You have written about the investigation of Qatargate, the largest alleged corruption scandal in the European Parliament. You rightly insist that the presumption of innocence must apply to all. What surprised you most, however, both about the alleged corruptors and the alleged corrupted?

Louis Colart: The first stunner is that the alleged corruption involves massive amounts of cash money. The investigations may uncover other non-cash transactions, but [this amount of cash] is unusual in corruption cases, leading some to believe it was deliberate, as tracing cash is difficult. The investigation has revealed large cash withdrawals from the bank account of the Qatari Embassy in Brussels.

The second surprise is the extent to which non-European countries—authoritarian regimes—are determined to go in trying to burnish their image in Europe, and in public opinion. In this case, [the alleged corruption was in order] to quash or water down resolutions critical of their human rights record.

 Joël Matriche: Discovering how permeable the European Parliament and its members were to foreign influence, particularly through the so-called “friendship groups,” was a real eye-opener. [According to the European Parliament, its members “occasionally form unofficial groups to discuss relations with non-EU countries. These ‘friendship groups,’ sometimes sponsored by lobbyists or foreign governments, are not official European Parliament organisations.”] This is just flabbergasting. Imagine the levels of temptation for some members of parliament whose morals might be flexible? What’s easier than to return from a trip with a Rolex on your wrist, or a gold necklace? The system is being reformed, but these “friendship groups” have always operated in a very opaque way, particularly regarding foreign travel.

PHM: Focusing on Qatar and its role in the alleged corruption scheme, how did it all start?

LC: We know this from one of the main protagonists of the scandal, Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former Italian Member of the European Parliament [and founder of the NGO ‘Fight Impunity’] who decided to cooperate with the Belgian authorities. He told the investigators that, back in April 2018, he was approached by Dr. Ali bin Samikh Al Marri [now-Qatari Minister of Labor], who was then the Chairman of Qatar’s National Committee for Human Rights. Panzeri himself was the Chairman of the European Parliament Sub-committee on Human Rights. A few months earlier, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt had started a de facto blockade of Qatar. The blockade was immensely damaging to the image of Qatar on the world scene and, according to Panzeri, led to Doha mounting a large diplomatic offensive. Now, what is not clear is exactly when and how the relationship between Al Marri and Panzeri was transformed from a simple exchange between two people dealing with human rights issues to an alleged paid relationship. 

PHM: Minister Al Marri is of particular interest here in Geneva, as he is Doha’s main interlocutor with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which, since 2018, has had a cooperation agreement with Qatar and an office in Doha, funded by the government. Panzeri’s assistant, Francesco Giorgi, kept an Excel spreadsheet listing all the expenses that went to Qatar’s “lobbying” efforts. You obtained the document. Is there anything relating to Geneva in it?

LC: No, not that we can tell.

PHM: An arrest warrant was initially issued against Dr. Al Marri, but was later suspended. Why? 

LC/JM: It is difficult to say with absolute certainty given the ongoing investigation. But we did reveal that the fate of a Belgian citizen held hostage in Iran was discussed, and possibly negotiated, between the Belgian Prosecutor’s Office and Qatar. It’s a high-stakes political game. There has been contact between the Belgian authorities and Doha. The Belgian Federal Prosecutor admitted publicly that in his entire career he had never been under such pressure before, from within his own country and from others. The suspension of the arrest warrant helped Minister Al Marri assume the Presidency of the International Labour Conference.

PHM: Some media reports indicate that the investigation into Qatargate might be fizzling out, and may not lead to convictions. What do you say?

 LC/JM: It is difficult, if not impossible, to predict what will happen. We know that at least six people have already been indicted and the investigations are ongoing. There may be more indictments coming. We may end up with out-of-court settlements. Justice works at a much slower pace than journalistic investigations. We wanted to tell the story because, let’s face it, it’s a great story, but also because we thought it was important to lay out the facts and, with the European elections coming up in June, to shed light on the European Parliament.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Excerpts from QatarGate: Investigation and Revelations on The Scandal that Shakes Europe

Pier Antonio Panzeri’s First Meeting with Dr. Al Marri

In June 2017, the coalition countries [that had imposed a blockade on Qatar] cut off everything: their borders with the country, trade routes, the antenna of Al-Jazeera, its TV channel... The world's fifth-largest gas exporter would not allow itself to be bullied in this way. In the months that followed the blockade, Doha launched an unprecedented diplomatic offensive. An offensive that found an echo in Europe, [where] a small team of opportunists […] tried to take advantage of the situation.

In the offices of the Belgian Federal Judicial Police, Pier Antonio Panzeri recalls this pivotal period: “At that point, Qatar decided to open up to the world. So, they sent ambassadors all over the world. At that time, I was chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) at the European Parliament.” 

As President of DROI, Panzeri has a sort of Qatari counterpart. His name: Dr Ali bin Samikh Al Marri. A high-ranking dignitary of the emirate, from an influential clan within the monarchy, the man whom Panzeri and [fellow corruption suspect Francesco] Giorgi nicknamed, in their cryptic conversations, the Dottore (the doctor), was then the chairman of Qatar's National Committee for Human Rights. On its website, this organization claims to enjoy “complete independence” from the Gulf state. Does it really? In an authoritarian monarchy such as the one that rules Doha, this committee is more like a polished showcase for public diplomacy—or even an office of influence. The chairman of the European Parliament's Rights Committee must have known this.

Al Marri sets out to meet Antonio Panzeri. He takes the first step and comes to Brussels to shake hands. The Dottore got to know Mr. Panzeri, with his boastful air and bonhomie. He was a bit of a boor, too, with his disdain for foreign languages. A man with a long career as a trade unionist, which adds to the Italian’s stature in Al Marri's eyes. The Qatari lobbyist is inevitably seduced.

“In 2018, Al Marri decided to meet me,” Panzeri continues in his filmed interview. “I met him in Brussels and received an invitation to Doha; I accepted, asking for an agenda for the visit, which took place in the spring of 2018. My assistant Francesco Giorgi and I both went.

“We had several meetings, notably at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Labour. At the end of this visit, we decided to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Human Rights Subcommittee and the Qatar Human Rights Agency.”

In the official photo from April 8, 2018, the Italian is looking straight ahead. His two clasped hands rest on the armrest of a carved, gilded seat. Seated on an identical armchair, the Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of Qatar, receiving Panzeri, stares at him from under his immaculate white dishdasha, no doubt overjoyed to receive the Old Continent’s “Mr. Human Rights” in these times of blockade.

The website of The Peninsula—the English-language Qatari daily newspaper—is enthusiastic in relating the results of Panzeri’s visit to their country: “The Chairman of the European Parliament’s Human Rights Committee [...] praised the reforms undertaken by the State of Qatar to promote human rights,” it reads. Protection of workers, future organization of the 2022 World Cup, international credibility of the Qatari Human Rights Committee... The report spells out the praise lavished by Panzeri on his hosts. The article contains no less than six paragraphs dedicated to Doha’s utmost preoccupation of the moment: denouncing the “siege” of their hated neighbors. “Mr. Panzeri stressed that the blockade [...] has negative impacts on people and affects human rights, so it is incumbent to expose the destructive effects of any violation of these rights to public opinion.”

As for the MOU, it exists. A simple A4 sheet, drafted in English and signed by both protagonists on April 26, 2018—the day Al Marri attended a committee meeting in the European Parliament for the very first time. [This was also] an opportunity for [him] to complain about the blockade suffered by his emirate, in front of a Panzeri nodding in agreement from his presidential seat.

The two-line Memorandum of Understanding promises “an exchange of experience and expertise” between the members and teams of the Committee and the Commission; ditto for the organization or monitoring of conventions, “including those of the ILO,” the International Labour Organization, the UN agency for workers’ rights—which, four days later, will open its office in Doha.

“It was a protocol, a letter of intent that was submitted to the European Parliament's Human Rights Committee. The aim was to develop multilateral relations and monitor the progress of reforms in Qatar,” explained the Italian during his interrogations.

The European Parliament has denied ever having official knowledge of the “precious” document. In short, it is a phantom agreement, which no MEP other than the signatory himself appears to have validated.

A phantom document perhaps, but nevertheless much appreciated by the Qatari side.

Francesco Giorgi’s Spreadsheet

Francesco Giorgi [Panzeri’s aide] created a four-column spreadsheet in a password-protected file on his Google Drive: a digital document with a bright future.

The first date on [the list] is April 26, 2018, the day of Ali bin Samikh Al Marri’s first official visit to the European Parliament. In the “events” column, Giorgi notes in English: “Hearing of the President [of Qatar’s Human Rights Committee] before DROI.” In the “subject” column, he details the purpose of the hearing: “Violations of Qatari citizens' rights under the blockade,” and in the last column, marked “follow-up,” Giorgi digs in: “Call for action by the European Parliament—pointing the finger at Bahrain for refusing to accept the [visit of the] DROI delegation planned for May.”

The second row of the spreadsheet records the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Al Marri and Panzeri.

Confronted with a printed copy of the file found on his computer and listening attentively to three interviewers from the Central Office for the Repression of Corruption, Francesco Giorgi explains his mentor’s strategy to the police. The signing of a memorandum of understanding is “the most important action in Panzeri's file about Qatar,” says the young Italian. “It’s the first time such a memorandum has been signed. Such an agreement sealed Qatar's legitimacy with the European Parliament,” he insists.

Pier Antonio Panzeri’s gesture did not involve compensation. Still, it was not disinterested, according to Giorgi: “There’s no agreement yet for remuneration at this date,” the assistant tells the investigators, “but Panzeri felt that this was the gesture to make for future remuneration; it’s the key to entry into negotiations.” The Italian duo wasted no time. “Negotiations on remuneration took place during the visit in May and beyond.”

Antonio Panzeri was less precise about dates than his loyal aide but told the same story to the police: “Francesco Giorgi and I agreed to do some lobbying work.” The fee negotiated with Ali bin Samikh Al Marri? One and a half million euros for the period 2018-2019. In cash. The two men will split the payment 60/40; Panzeri, the boss, will get the 60%, and Giorgi will get the rest.

A month after signing the April 2018 Memorandum of Understanding and the Qatari's appearance before Parliament, Antonio Panzeri and Francesco Giorgi returned to Doha for a second time. The former trade unionist rehearsed and refined his pro-Qatari and anti-blockade rhetoric, much to the delight of Qatar’s state media. The two men were received like princes. And for them, the real purpose of the visit became concrete. Francesco Giorgi confesses to the police that “there was an agreement on remuneration with Qatar after the visit to Doha. The first payment was made in the first half of 2018, before the end of June 2018.”

His contact is a man called Boudjellal Bettahar. The Qatari dignitary [Al Marri] never travels without his “right-hand man,” nicknamed l'Algerino—“the Algerian.” With a doctorate in international public law from Lyon III University and another in international human rights law from the Catholic University of Paris, Boudjellal Bettahar was in his fifties when he met the two Italians. He is an essential link in his boss Ali bin Samikh Al Marri’s network: he speaks English and French, in addition to his mother tongue, Arabic. We don't know when this Franco-Algerian became such a precious asset up the Qatari’s sleeve, but he stayed with him when the latter was called to the post of the Minister of Labor for the emirate shortly afterwards.

Targeting the Unions

The other Qatari obsession emerging from [Giorgi’s spreadsheet] can be summed up in two words: workers’ rights. 

“In 2018, we were renewing the presidency of the global union [the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the great global umbrella for hundreds of workers’ organizations]. At one of the meetings, there were four of us: with me were Francesco [Giorgi], Al Marri and the Algerian [Bettahar],” recalls Antonio Panzeri in front of a camera from the Federal Police. The alleged “mastermind” of the interference operation in the Brussels and Strasbourg parliaments is about to make revelations that will go far beyond the seat of European democracy. 

“[ITUC Secretary General] Sharan Burrow was seeking reelection, and I was asked about the Italian woman who was running against her. […] I told them I knew her, because we’d been involved in the same trade union. They told me they would be happy to meet her and help her.”

Panzeri finally drops the name of the Italian woman going up against the outgoing ITUC president: Susanna Camusso. Camusso spent nine years as the head of the Italian General Confederation of Labor (CGIL, the country’s largest trade union from 2010 to 2019). She is now an Italian senator. The woman whom the former activist Panzeri is about to implicate is well-versed in union negotiations.

“I spoke with her in Milan, and she said she was available for this meeting. The meeting took place a few weeks later, in June 2018. […] Present? Me, the Algerian, Al Marri, [Camusso], her assistant, and Francesco Giorgi. We didn’t talk about money but about helping African and Middle Eastern unions. During a [previous] meeting, we had decided on €600,000. This amount came from the following assessment: unions from many countries can vote if their dues are in order, and many countries that could have supported Camusso’s candidacy were behind in their payments.”

Susanna Camusso, 62 years old at the time of the ITUC leadership context, remembers the lunch but not the menu as described by her host. “I was contacted by Mr. Panzeri, who introduced me to the representative of a Qatari NGO involved in human rights. Given that [Panzeri] was President of the DROI at the time, I had no reason to doubt his word nor to question the commitment of the NGO towards human rights in the country.” […] The “NGO”—in fact, Qatar’s Committee on National Human Rights—“never asked me to support Qatar’s government, and money was not discussed,” the former Secretary General of the Italian Union Federation repeatedly stressed.

However, money, and in large amounts, was dropped on Brussels. […] “The €600,000 were given to me in a bag, on Place Plasky, by the Algerian [Bettahar],” Panzeri told police. “This is the bulk of the money that was found at my apartment,” he explained during his interview.

From Qatargate: Enquête et révélations sur le scandale qui ébranle l'Europe, par Louis Colart et Joël Matriche. Editions HarperCollins France. (Non traduit) © HarperCollins 2024.

-PHM

A Very Tense Session at the Human Rights Council: Activists Seek UN Action on China After ‘disappointing” Rights Review

By Stephanie Nebehay

Allowed just 45 seconds to comment on China’s human rights record, 161 UN member states took the floor this week, many denouncing violations and suggesting reforms, during a review which is held every five years. While the United States went furthest in condemning “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity” against Uyghurs in Xinjiang, other states called for a repeal of the national security law in Hong Kong. However, many African and Asian countries praised China’s economic progress and rights record—echoing language used by Beijing’s large delegation. Activists voiced disappointment following the session, and said the ball is back in the court of the UN rights office, led by Volker Turk, to press China to end repression in the country. “Our patience [with him] is running really thin,” a Uyghur representative said.

The UN human rights office led by Volker Türk must step up pressure on China over its documented repression of Uyghurs, Tibetans, and pro-democracy voices in Hong Kong, activists said this week, after what they called a rare but disappointing public review of Beijing’s record.

Türk should speak out, they said, in pursuing the work of his predecessor Michelle Bachelet, who published a damning report in her final hours in office in August 2022 which found that mass internment of Uyghurs in camps could constitute crimes against humanity.

“Our patience is running really thin. In the beginning, when he started, we wanted to give him time to adjust and everything—and then of course there are several wars around the world that obviously merit his attention as well,” Zumretay Arkin, Director of Global Advocacy at the World Uyghur Congress, told a news briefing after China’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was held on Tuesday, as protesters demonstrated outside the UN. 

“We need him to show us that the China file is being prioritised by the OHCHR after that report,” she said, referring to the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights.

But Türk’s office, in written replies to the Geneva Observer, said that it was indeed pressing Beijing for reforms and raising cases of individual Uyghurs in the remote Xinjiang region to determine their fate. “Since releasing the assessment, High Commissioner Türk and the Office have maintained continuous and proactive engagement with the Government of China on [the subject of] human rights. The situation in Xinjiang remains of concern, and the laws and policies assessed in our report are still in place. The High Commissioner continues to press for implementation of the recommendations in our assessment report,” OHCHR spokesman Jeremy Laurence said in a reply. “We have also called on China to disclose information about the many people whose whereabouts remain unknown and/or to investigate any disappearance or possible death if this is the case and communicate to their families,” he said.

Peter Irwin of the Uyghur Human Rights Project told reporters, regarding Türk: “I hope he is not going down the same road as the previous High Commissioner [Bachelet], where there is this kind of focus on engagement […] I think you can only go so far with [this strategy],” adding: “What we have seen over the last two years is that the Office of the High Commissioner seems to be afraid to use that very strong language which was in the report from the High Commissioner’s office.” 

Irwin acknowledged a media report of a diminished police presence on the streets in Xinjiang and fewer detainees in what China says are re-education camps, but pointed out that “maybe there aren’t so as many people in the camps now. But if you can go prison [for] 20 years for having a Qur’an at home, that’s not normal… You can have fewer people in the streets because people are deathly afraid to do or say anything that they used to do before.”

Lhadon Tethong of the Tibet Action Institute also voiced disappointment at the lack of public follow-up by the UN human rights office. “He has really failed to do what he could have done. He has signaled to the Chinese government that our issues are not [that] pressing and urgent, and that [Bachelet’s] approach was not [that] wrong,” she said. 

45 Second Speeches

As reported exclusively last week by The Geneva Observer, Beijing’s diplomatic mission had asked the UN in Geneva (UNOG) to ensure that “anti-China separatists” were not granted access to the session—attendance at which requires accreditation—and that no “anti-China” slogans or banners would be tolerated on the premises.

Exclusive: China Seeks to Quash Dissent Ahead UN Review of Its Human Rights Record

| UN Human Rights Council to hold five-year review of China next week | Beijing urges UN to prevent ‘anti-China separatists’ from attending UPR | Uyghur, Tibetan, and Hong Kong activists to attend review, and plan demo

THE GENEVA OBSERVERStephanie Nebehay

Dozens of representatives from government-sponsored NGOs known as ‘Gongos’ queued up early to enter Room XX, preventing some “legitimate” activists from getting one of the 15 available NGO seats at the Human Rights Council, participants said.

Despite the 45 second limit imposed on member states’ speeches, some Western countries decried specific human rights violations—prompting Beijing’s large delegation to reject what they claimed were “lies” and a campaign to “smear China”.

The United States condemned “the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity” against Uyghurs, while Britain and Switzerland also voiced concerns at mass arbitrary detention. Canada called on China to “end all coercive measures imposed on Uyghurs and Tibetans” and repeal the national security law in Hong Kong. Britain demanded a halt to the “persecution” of media tycoon Jimmy Lai, currently on trial in Hong Kong on charges of sedition and foreign collusion. 

Australia, Denmark, Germany and Ireland also spoke out strongly against abuses while Montenegro called for the repeal of “discriminatory laws and policies against Uyghur and other ethno-religious minorities” and for an investigation into allegations of human rights violations in the camps including “torture, sexual violence, forced labour and other mistreatment”.

But Muslim majority states, apart from Türkiye and Kuwait, were conspicuously silent about persecution of their fellow Muslims.

“Failing the Uyghurs”

“I was especially disappointed that Malaysia, Indonesia, and Central Asian countries specifically, who themselves have their own citizens in these camps, have not spoken a word on these issues. There are Uzbeks, Kurds and Kazaks who have been interned arbitrarily in these camps since 2017. So it was definitely disappointing,” Zumretay Arkin said. “I think it is safe to say the Muslim majority countries have failed the Uyghurs, the OIC has failed the Uyghurs. The global ummah [community], that they call it, has definitely failed to protect the Uyghur voices and Uyghur human rights during the UPR, and beyond the UPR, whether it is at the Council or elsewhere,” she concluded.

China’s delegation went on the defensive, while assuring the forum that it had lifted nearly 100 million people out of poverty and claiming that its 1.4 billion citizens lived in harmony under the rule of law.

“The people of all 56 ethnic groups of China are equal and closely united like the seeds of a pomegranate, working together for common prosperity and development and for a better life for all,” China’s ambassador and head of delegation Chen Xu told the forum. “China's freedom of religious belief is safeguarded.”

“China will strengthen exchange and cooperation with the High Commissioner's office,” Chen added, giving no specifics.

There are “at least 17 pending visits” to China requested by UN human rights experts over the years, while others have “lapsed”, according to the OHCHR. The only recent visit allowed was by the UN expert on the rights of older persons in 2019.

Referring to Xinjiang, China’s delegation said: “It’s a window showcasing China's human rights development. We respect and protect human rights […] We maintain Xinjiang's social stability. We guarantee people’s right to life. In Xinjiang, we combat terrorism according to the law. We to the maximum degree guarantee basic commerce. For seven years there [have] been no cases of violence and terror.”

Dolkun Isa, president of the exiled World Uyghur Congress, dismissed China’s assertions, but did note that some 30 delegations had spoken out on Xinjiang—roughly twice the number as at the 2018 UPR. “My whole family was completely destroyed,” he said, adding that his mother had died in a “concentration camp” while one brother is serving a long prison sentence and the fate of the other is unknown. “Since 2017, I have lost access.”

“Today we have seen the Chinese government whitewashing and hiding its crimes. They are very successful with diplomatic power, using this disinformation campaign,” Isa said. African and Asian countries reaping economic benefits from China’s Belt and Road Initiative had been intimidated from making critical remarks, he added.

Sophie Richardson, an expert and former China director of Human Rights Watch, said: “We now increasingly hear Chinese rhetoric in the recommendations made by governments, I think indicating a level of control over the process or influence over the process that is problematic.”

Eric Chan, Hong Kong’s chief secretary for administration, told the UPR that by implementing the national security law in the former British colony since 2020—following pro-democracy protests—“the days of social disturbance and fear are now over: “Stability, as well as law and order, has been restored and our city is back on track.” 

Tibetan Identity

Treatment of Tibetans was perhaps the area where the Chinese delegation finally commented in attempts to justify Beijing’s latest policies, defending boarding schools where activists say some one million children are deprived of their language and culture. China said the schools provided “modern education.”

Topjor Tsultrim, of Students for a Free Tibet, said that 20 delegates had raised concerns about Tibet at the UPR, twice as many as in 2018. “The continued existence of Tibet and Tibetan culture depends on the bold insistence of the international community to scrutinise China,” he said.

The Tibet Action Institute’s Lhadon Tethong said: “Tibetans are really facing, in a way, a final battle with the Chinese government as [Beijing seeks] to erase the Tibetan identity of the whole future generation of Tibetans living in Tibet. […] As Tibetans, and [with] the Tibetan issue, we have just clawed our way back into the spotlight, to get attention on our issue despite Beijing’s best attempts to erase us. I think that’s a signal to the Chinese government that they are not going to succeed.”

-SN

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Today's Briefing: Philippe Mottaz - Stephanie Nebehay

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Edited by: Dan Wheeler

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