China’s hard work in compelling African, Middle Eastern, and most other Global South countries to avoid criticizing Beijing on human rights issues in Xinjiang appears to be paying off. On Tuesday, Canada along with 43 other countries submitted a joint statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva to express their “grave concern” over well-documented reports of human rights violations in the western Chinese region.

No African or Muslim majority countries were among the signatories. The only Mideast state on the list was Israel which is somewhat surprising, given the Jewish state’s longstanding drive to foster closer ties with China and its own complicated human rights history related to Muslim populations.