The United States should protect its people from gun violence, as any government that safeguards human rights should do, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Tuesday.
Wang made the remarks at a daily news briefing in response to media reports that a large number of shooting incidents occurred at many locations in the United States over the weekend, causing many casualties, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to data released by the US Gun Violence Archives, a non-profit organization, there were about 220 gun incidents in the United States over the weekend, with about 90 people killed.
“We express our regret over the repeated shooting incidents in the United States that have caused serious casualties, and are concerned and disturbed that the US government has not taken any substantive measures to reduce gun violence for a long time,” said Wang.
As the country with the most serious gun violence in the world, the number of victims of gun violence has reached record highs, with an average of 122 people dying every day, Wang said, adding that the probability of children and adolescents dying from shooting is 15 times greater than in the other 31 high-income countries combined.
“However, in the past 25 years, the US government has been slow to enact a gun-control bill,” Wang stressed.
He said that, faced with repeated human rights tragedies in their own country, the US politicians only repeat hollow words to placate or stage some mourning events until the next deadly incident happens.
“People can’t help ask, where are the human rights of the American people when they see their relatives and even their children facing gunpoint every day but can’t do anything?” Wang said.
He questioned whether the American politicians care more about human rights or hegemony, when they are indifferent to the deaths of their own people but meddle in other countries’ affairs.
“We urge the United States to respond to the concerns of the American people, ensure the safety of their lives, and enable Americans to sit at their desks with peace of mind and walk freely on the streets,” he said.
“This is what a government that cares about and upholds human rights should do,” Wang said.
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Earlier a Chinese representative called on the UN human rights mechanisms to continue to pay attention to human rights violations against indigenous women and girls in the US, Canada and Australia. The representative made the remarks during a speech at a dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women at the 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, The Global Times reported.
China is deeply concerned about the issues reported at the meeting by the Special Rapporteur including the violence against politically active indigenous women in the US, obstacles for indigenous women and girls to seek justice in the US, and genocide crimes by Canada against indigenous people, the representative said.
In these countries, indigenous women and girls face oppression and discrimination, and are at serious risk of violence, according to the representative.
China urges these countries to face up to historical crimes and current issues, and take concrete measures to eliminate discrimination and violence against indigenous women and girls.
China also called on them to investigate these issues, hold perpetrators accountable and provide compensation to the victims.
