Chinese mission’s draft statement on the issue “prevention of violence against religious minorities” delivered at the Sixth Forum on Minority Issues (26 November 2013) Madam President: China believes that all religions and cultures are the crystallization of the wisdom of humanity, that they make a great contribution to the development and progress of the human society and that they should therefore receive equal respect. Different cultures and religions should strengthen the dialogue, draw on their mutual experience and peacefully coexist. China constantly fights religious extremism and violence or other intolerable phenomena based on religious and racial discrimination. Chinese law provides clear-cut punishment for those actions which violate the citizen’s right to religious freedom. For example, Chinese Criminal Law provides that for State organs’ staff members who illegally deprive citizens of their religious freedom and violate customs and habits of minority nationalities, if the circumstances are serious, receive penal punishment. In recent years, Chinese judiciary heard a certain number of cases of violations of constitutional law and serious harm against the feeling of religious followers, always punishing those responsible. China firmly opposes the participation in this forum of the separatist, anti-Chinese World Uyghur Congress. We oppose the false criticism made in their statement by “non-representative countries and ethnic groups’ organizations” against China. We hope that this Forum strictly comply with the goals and principles of the United Nations. Chinese law ensures that all minority nationalities equally enjoy the right to religious freedom and the Uyghur ethnic group of Xinjiang is clearly no exception. The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has twenty four thousand and three hundred mosques, around thirty thousand people with a religious office, over ten thousand people who each year go to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage. Each Xinjiang religious group independently and legally developed an educational administration program, receiving protection from Chinese Constitution and law. It is important to point out that, for a long time now, the East Turkestan Liberation Organization (ETLO) within and without the borders, tried to destroy the unity of the country, acting in the name of “ethnic groups”, “religion”, “human rights” but planning, organizing and carrying out, in Xinjiang and other Chinese regions, schism activities and violent terrorist activities. They seriously violated the right of existence, the right to life, property rights and development rights of all ethnic groups, included the Uyghur ethnic group, without representing any ethnic group or religion. China has never linked terrorism together with any particular religion or ethnic group. The Chinese government is legally carrying out an attack against terrorism power, with the aim of protecting the life and property of people from all Chinese ethnic groups, included the Uyghur ethnic group and with the aim of protecting the country’s integrity, security and stability. Thank you Madam President.