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

By Laura MacInnis

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.