Amnesty sees gaps in China's U.N. rights report

GENEVA (Reuters) - Amnesty International accused China on Thursday of "whitewashing abuses" against ethnic minorities in Beijing's first human rights report to the U.N. Human Rights Council under a new review process.

Diplomats from around the world will question China about its report on Monday, when it takes its turn in a country-by-country process that began last year to assess the rights record of all U.N. members.

"China is committed to engaging in exchanges and cooperation with other countries in the field of human rights," China said in the report, stressing that its laws enshrine human rights and protect women, the elderly, the disabled and ethnic minorities.

Amnesty, while applauding China's willingness to participate in the U.N. review, said the self-assessment "whitewashes serious human rights abuses being committed in the country."

"China's national report fails to list some of the country's most pressing issues," Roseann Rife, Amnesty's Asia-Pacific director, said in a statement.

The report avoided issues that have attracted foreign criticism, such as crackdowns in Tibet and the northwestern Xinjiang region, the London-based rights group said.

Amnesty said the report also failed to mention religious persecution of Falun Gong members, and did not refer to China's system of administrative detention which allows people to be incarcerated without trial or access to a lawyer.

China has 56 officially recognised ethnic minorities. Resentment among those who see their language, culture and religion under threat has occasionally triggered violence, leading to diplomatic embarrassment for Beijing.

A Chinese crackdown on riots in Tibet last March drew international attention to the demands of Tibetan exiles for greater autonomy and led to anti-China demonstrations along some legs of the Olympic torch route.

Days before the opening ceremony, a deadly attack on border police by alleged Muslim separatists prompted China to call those seeking an independent homeland for ethnic Uighurs a top security threat for the Games.

While China's constitution guarantees religious freedom and equal treatment for all minorities, both Tibetans and Uighurs complain about discrimination and restricted worship.

Amnesty said next week's U.N. review should shift attention back to such issues.

"The real test will be in the concrete actions the Chinese authorities take to improve human rights," Rife said.

The Human Rights Council has only 47 members, but all U.N. states can take part in the reviews. Germany, Canada and Russia were scrutinised this week.

Human Rights Watch called on U.S. President Barack Obama's administration to be more active in the process, saying it was "missing a crucial opportunity to address human rights violations in several states by failing to participate."

"If the U.S. is truly committed to addressing abuses and re-engaging with the world, it should speak out at the Human Rights Council," the rights watchdog said.

(For China's report to the Human Rights Council see: www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/PAGES/CNSession4.aspx )

(For the full Amnesty report on China's review see: www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA17/097/2008/en )

(Editing by Nick Vinocur)