News Brief
'Dangerous Favours' And 'Cover-Ups': Former Employee Alleges China Paid Bribes To United Nations To Serve Its Agenda
Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
Emma Reilly, a former employee of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), has made grave accusations against the United Nations (UN), alleging a troubling relationship between the OHCHR and the Chinese government.
Her claims, submitted as written evidence to the UK Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, suggest a concerning nexus between the OHCHR and China.
According to Reilly, the OHCHR has been providing "dangerous favours" to the Chinese government, as part of a broader effort by China to exploit the UN for its national interests.
As reported by NDTV, these alleged favours include secret agreements and cover-ups, designed to serve China's agenda within the UN.
Reilly alleged that "during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals", "Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the General Assembly who ultimately oversaw the process and had significant influence over the final texts put to the Assembly".
She also accuses the OHCHR of providing advance information to China about human rights activists attending the Human Rights Council, leading to harassment and intimidation of activists and their families by Chinese authorities.
Furthermore, Reilly alleges that reports by UN agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), were edited to downplay the possibility of a laboratory leak as the origin of Covid-19.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has also submitted evidence, stating that China seeks to shape the multilateral system to align with its authoritarian worldview.
The Foreign Affairs Committee is conducting an inquiry into international relations in the multilateral system, examining how countries engage with multilateral organisations.
The inquiry follows a previous report by the Committee, which highlighted attempts by autocratic states to co-opt and redefine the principles of multilateral organisations.
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