GENEVA, June 24 -- China on Wednesday said the United States and European countries had made false allegations against countries of the South, including China, and urged the related Western powers to focus on and correct their own human rights violations.

The comments were made during the ongoing 29th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

During a general debate on human rights situations that require the Council's attention, Ambassador Wu Hailong, head of the Chinese Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva here, pointed out human rights problems in the United States, including torture, police violence, and racism.

Wu noted that in some European countries, bills on terrorism restricted freedoms, migrants suffered violations, and xenophobia was on the rise.

The Chinese representative also stressed that the work of the Council should focus on dialogue, cooperation, technical assistance and capacity building.

During Wednesday's debate, a number of other countries and international or regional organizations also highlighted their concerns about shrinking space for civil society, and the harassment of human rights defenders and journalists across the world, especially in armed conflict zones.

The Russian Federation representative pointed out that the United States had continued to consider itself a model of democracy, but yet was violating human rights at home and abroad, in such areas as freedom of speech, xenophobia, in the penitentiary system.

Serious problems of racism and xenophobia, including the endorsement of neo-Nazism, also existed in the European Union, the Russian representative noted.

Iran, speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, said the international community should support human rights in all countries, and that human rights had to be addressed in a fair and equal manner, with objectivity, non-selectivity, non-interference, and respect to state sovereignty.

It stressed the importance of human rights not being used for political purposes. All actors on the international scene should build an international order based on inclusion, mutual respect, and the promotion of cultural diversity.