Australia, the United States and 13 other countries criticized China at the United Nations on Tuesday over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet, prompting China to denounce them for ignoring the “living hell” in the Gaza Strip.

Clashes over China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslims have become a common occurrence at both the United Nations in New York and the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

A U.N. report released two years ago said China’s “arbitrary and discriminatory detention” of Uyghurs and other Muslims in its Xinjiang region may constitute crimes against humanity. It said that “serious human rights violations” had been committed.

“We urge China to uphold the international human-rights obligations that it has voluntarily assumed, and to implement all U.N. recommendations,” Australia’s U.N. Ambassador James Larsen told the U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee.

“This includes releasing all individuals arbitrarily detained in both Xinjiang and Tibet, and urgently clarifying the fate and whereabouts of missing family members,” Larsen said.

He spoke on behalf of Australia, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Britain.

Beijing has long denied all allegations of abuse of Uyghurs. China’s U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong on Tuesday accused the group of Western states of resorting “to lies to provoke confrontations.”

“The human-rights situation that should gather the most attention at the committee this year is undoubtedly that of Gaza,” he said. “Australia and the U.S., among a few others, played down this living hell, while unleashing attacks and smears against the peaceful and tranquil Xinjiang.”

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