Rights activists are increasingly worried that Beijing's influence operations are having a negative impact on the work of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which concludes its 40th session on Friday. Human Rights Watch (HRW) China director Sophie Richardson warned in an article this week that China is seeking to undermine the mission of the U.N. Human Rights Council from within.
She also cited HRW research in 2017 which reported threats and harassment of U.N. staff involved in human rights evaluation by Chinese officials. "As we head towards the final phase of [China's U.N. human rights review], ask yourself: What other government threatens #humanrights treaty body experts?" Richardson tweeted on Thursday.
