47 members of the UN Human Rights Council voted against holding a debate on alleged abuses in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the council's press office said.

In a vote held on Thursday as part of the 51st session of the UNHRC in Geneva, 17 countries voted in favor, 11 abstained and 19 countries voted against, including Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The vote was preceded by heated debate, during which several council member states presented their positions for and against the draft resolution. The resolution was submitted by the United States, the project was co-sponsored by the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Australia and Lithuania.

US Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council Michelle Taylor noted that evidence of human rights violations in Xinjiang was recorded in a UN report published more than a month ago. She said it was important to have a debate on this issue in a neutral forum.

An August report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) cited alleged crimes against Uyghurs and other Muslim communities, including possible torture and other ill-treatment, and sexual and gender-based violence against the Uyghur minority.

The Chinese Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva condemned the report and strongly opposed its publication. Chinese diplomats spoke of a campaign of "disinformation and lies fabricated by anti-Chinese forces" and interference in the internal affairs of the PRC.

“If China is the target, then every other developing country will be the target tomorrow. Allowing the adoption of such a draft decision is tantamount to supporting Western interference in China's internal affairs under the pretext of Xinjiang issues, and in the long term will harm the work of the Council and the international cause of human rights," said Chen Xu, representative of the People's Republic of China.

Earlier, the head of OHCHR, Michelle Bachelet, said that she was under pressure from all sides in connection with her report on Xinjiang, which she wanted to publish before the end of her term on August 31. Bachelet visited China on May 23-28, when meeting with her, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China hopes that the visit of the UN High Commissioner can dispel lies and rumors about the human rights situation in the country.

In 2020, Uzbekistan was first elected to the UN Human Rights Council for a three-year term (2021-2023).