GENEVA: The UN rights council on Thursday rejected a Western-led motion to hold a debate about alleged human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region after a UN report found possible crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslims.

The defeat (19 against, 17 for, 11 abstentions) is only the second time in the council’s 16-year history that a motion has been rejected and is seen by observers as a setback to both accountability efforts and the West’s moral authority. The United States, Canada and Britain were among the countries that called for the motion.

There was a rare burst of applause after the result was announced in the packed Geneva-based council room.