Human Rights Watch raps China response

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 11 (UPI) -- China "bordered on farce" in defense of human rights in its country, the Human Rights Watch organization charged Thursday.

The group accused the Chinese government of ignoring its commitment to the United Nations Human Rights Council by rejecting 70 recommendations by U.N. member states on alleged human rights abuses in China.

Recommendations cited during the Geneva session included freedom of expression and association, an independent judiciary, rights of minorities, prohibition of torture and media freedom.

"The Chinese government has tried to whitewash its human rights record in the hope that the U.N. will just look the other way," said Juliette de Rivero, advocacy director at Human Rights Watch in Geneva. "Its statements and denials bordered on farce."

China agreed to some recommendations, but almost all were broad statements of intent that offer neither acknowledgment of existing violations nor proposed remedies, HRW said.