OVERVIEW: This policy paper sought to extrapolate possible patterns in Chinas

strategic use of the veto power in the UNSC by looking at recent instances in which
China issued a veto. The analysis of Chinas voting trends was applied to Chinas
response to the current domestic threat presented by Xinjiang and Tibetan separatist
movements.

DOMESTIC CONFLICT IN XINJIANG AND TIBET
This section discusses the implications of Chinas voting trends to the recent
increase in political violence in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
Violence stemming from the XUAR is noteworthy because recently there has been an
increase in the number of attacks and riots. Early March 2014, 29 civilians were stabbed
to death at a railway station in China. This attack follows the multiple violent clashes
between Han Chinese and Uighurs that occurred throughout 2013, claiming nearly 50
lives. All perpetrators are allegedly linked to Uighur separatism. This section will also
briefly mention Chinas experience dealing with Tibetan acts of rebellion.
In order to analyze the significance of the escalation of violence in the XUAR, it
is necessary to understand the historical importance of the XUAR and the separatist
movement within. The XUAR is a geographical region in northwest China that is home
to an ethnic majority of roughly nine million Uighurs, a Muslim people who are of Turkic
descent and do not identify as being ethnically Chinese (Cuno 2011, 2). Despite Chinas
polyethnic character, Uighur separatism presents a concerning threat to the stability of
China because 99.8 percent of Chinese Uighurs are consolidated in one geographical
area (Starr 2004, 112). The ethnonationalist movement stemming from Uighur sentiment
to separate from China parallels the situation in Tibet, as both groups of ethnically
distinct people are sufficiently compact, self-conscious [and] culture maintaining
(Kymlicka 1995, 96). As a matter of fact, Uighurs successfully ruled themselves
independently twice during the early 1900s as an independent East Turkestan (United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and the Uyghurs of East
Turkestan 2009, 16). In brief, the case for Uighur independence draws perceived
legitimacy from the ancient roots of the historical, ethnic and cultural claims to the
XUAR.
Recently, China has experienced an escalation of terrorist violence linked to
Uighur separatism. As this self-determination movement has seemingly strengthened in
recent months, it is important for China to manage the terrorist risks associated with
separatist movements without treading on civil liberties and engaging in repression of the
ethnic minority. In 2007, China was one of 143 Member States that willingly adopted the
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) (United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and the Uyghurs of East Turkestan 2009,
3). However, China has not committed entirely to the principles presented in this
declaration. In July 2009, 197 people died when Chinese security forcesviolently
suppressed peaceful [Uighur] demonstrators in the XUAR which served as a watershed
for hundreds of disappearances of Uighur dissidents (Chinese Repression of Uighurs
Continues on Fourth Anniversary of Unrest 2003). Policy-wise, China has pursued an
agenda of closely monitoring developments of Uighur culture, by curbing the use of the
Uighur language, enacting repressive policies on the practice of Islam and initiating Han
migration into the XUAR (Chinese Repression of Uighurs Continues on Fourth
Anniversary of Unrest 2003). This political agenda of reducing the political sway of
Uighurs has provided further motivation for Uighur separatists to act on behalf of their
cause.
This disregard of its commitments in the UNDRIP could put Chinas treatment of
its indigenous, ethnic minorities up for international condemnation and Western-led
support in favor of international intervention. As a matter of fact, ethnonationalist groups
at risk, most notably ethnic Tibetans, have publicly called for UN intervention and
assistance, showing that minority groups present a concern for China over controlling its
sovereignty in the face of international organizations (China Defends Record at U.N.
Human Rights Council; Others Beg to Differ 2013).
In order to show the international community that foreign intervention and
international mechanisms will not play a role in the unfolding internal problems although
they may be warranted, it is important that China maintains a firm stance for the
upholding of sovereignty through its voting behavior in the UNSC. As a matter of fact,
recently in 2013, China was granted a seat on the UNs Human Rights Council, which is
a sub-committee of the General Assembly (Hurd 2014, 121). According to a report from
the Human Rights Watch, the motivation for Chinas bid to join the council was purely to
protect state sovereignty from what it considers undue interference in domestic affairs
through resolutions crafter by the council (Kaiman 2013). Fortunately for China, its
position as a P5 member means that its veto power will supersede any motions to
intervene in its domestic affairs on behalf of the UNSC, but China must still behave
according to its norm of non-intervention through roles played in other agencies linked to
the UN, such as the UNHRC.


CONCLUDING REMARKS
A review of how China exercises its veto power based on recent events suggests
that China vetoes resolutions that both tread on state sovereignty and advocate for
interventionist policies. In my opinion as policy advisor to Chinas government, their
historically strong stance against international actions encroaching on sovereignty should
continue for reputational purposes. China values sovereignty and is not amenable to the
possibility of international organizations intervening in domestic affairs. To best protect
their national interest, China should seek to veto future resolutions compromising the
ideal of territorial integrity so as to best avoid contributing to a precedent where
international involvement in sovereign states affairs is the norm.
Due to current security threats of violent separatist activity in the XUAR, it is
important that China makes it known that the possibility of international intervention in
the region is not looked favorably upon. In order to protect its sovereignty in the future,
as the escalation of violence continues, it is imperative for China to make it clear that it
values its sovereignty as the most important international norm. In light of the alleged
non-compliance with UNDRIP occurring in the XUAR and in the case of Tibet, China
must show that interference in its domestic problems through Western-led calls for
intervention will not be considered through any means of international organizations,
whether through the UN or monitors sent by agencies of the UN. China must continue to
show their strong opposition to international interference through vetoes to protect their
sovereignty over their contentious domestic issues. This paper is
also particularly timely as acts of terrorism from Uighur separatists will further call into
question Chinas participation in the UN. Adopted by the UNSC in December 2013,
Resolution 2129 is the Mandate of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive
Directorate (CTED) and will be upheld by member states through 2017. Section 18 of
this resolution explicitly states that the CTED, which was established by the UNSC after
September 11
th
, should seek to work with Member State governments and advise them on
managing terrorist threats within their borders to create integrated national counter-
terrorism strategies (United Nations Security Council 2013, 7). Essentially, recent
resolutions passed by the UNSC oblige Member States, like China, to be open to dialogue
with counter-terrorism experts in the UN that provides the UN a line to Chinas direct
authority to deal with their internal terrorism threat.















Works Cited

Ackerman, Alice. The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: A Relatively
Successful Case of Conflict Prevention in Europe. Security Dialogue 27 (4):
409424.
China Defends Record at U.N. Human Rights Council; Others Beg to Differ. 2013. The
Japan Times Online, October 23.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/23/world/social-issues-world/china-
defends-record-at-u-n-human-rights-council-others-beg-to-differ/.
Chinas Growing Role in UN Peacekeeping. 2009. Crisis Group Asia Report.
Chinese Repression of Uighurs Continues on Fourth Anniversary of Unrest. 2003.
Freedom House. http://www.freedomhouse.org/article/chinese-repression-
uighurs-continues-fourth-anniversary-unrest#.U2gKJCjaPuc.
Cuno, James. 2011. When Millennia-Old Mummimes Threaten National Identity. The
Epoch Times, March 7.
Holland, Christopher. 2012. Chinese Attitudes to International Law: China, the Security
Council, Sovereignty, and Intervention. NYU Journal of International Law &
Politics Online Forum (July): 244.
Hurd, Ian. 2014. International Organizations: Politics, Law, Practice. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Kaiman, Jonathan. 2013. China Granted Seat on UNs Human Rights Council. The
Guardian, November 13, sec. World news.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/13/china-granted-seat-un-human-
rights-council.
Kuzmiemko, Ilyana, and Eric Werker. 2005. How Much Is a Seat on the Security
Council Worth? Foreign Aid and Bribery at the United Nations. Journal of
Political Economy 114 (5) (October): 905930.
Kymlicka, Will. 1995. Multicultural Citizenship. Oxford: Clarendon.
Okhovat, Sahar. 2012. The United Nations Security Council: Its Veto Power and Its
Reform. CPACS Working Paper. Sydney, Australia: The Centre for Peace and
Conflict Studies.
Perpetual Fear: Impunity and Cycles of Violence in Zimbabwe. 2011. New York: Human
Rights Watch.
Starr, Frederick. 2004. Xinjiang: Chinas Muslim Borderland. New York: Central Asia-
Caucasus Institute.
Swaine, Michael. 2012. Chinese Views of the Syrian Conflict. China Leadership
Monitor (39): 118.
Thawnghmung, Ardeth Maung, and Maung Aung Myoe. 2008. Myanmar in 2007: A
Turning Point in the Roadmap? Asian Survey 48 (1): 1319.
Tieh, Susan. 2004. China in the UN: United with Other Nations? Stanford Journal of
East Asian Affairs 4 (1): 1928.
UN at a Glance. 2014. United Nations. http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/copyright/.
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and the Uyghurs of East
Turkestan. 2009. Washington, D.C.: Uyghur Human Rights Project.
United Nations Security Council. 2011. Resolution 1973 (2011).
. 2013. Resolution 2129 (2013).