Dharamsala, Feb. 12, 2009 – China rejected any mention of the human rights situation in Tibet at the conclusion of a major international review of its human rights record in Geneva yesterday.
China rejected many of the recommendations made by UN member states to implement specific measures and reforms for genuine human rights in China. In the report of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of China issued by the UPR Working Group yesterday, China, while accepting some recommendations on the promotion of human rights in general, played down recommendations including measures to provide freedom of information and expression; ensure the independence of the judiciary and lawyers; safeguard detainees’ access to counsel; protect lawyers from attacks and harassment; and grant freedom of religion and movement to ethnic minorities such as Tibetans and Uyghurs.
Instead, China accepted a recommendation by Cuba to target “people who are qualifying themselves as human rights defenders with the objective of attacking the interests of [the] state and the people of China.”
“As a test of a state-driven process aimed at advancing human rights among member states through constructive dialogue, consensus decision-making, and cooperation, the Universal Periodic Review, with regard to China, is a failure,” said Sharon Hom, Executive Director of Human Rights in China. “Instead, the process has given China a ‘cover’ for impunity.”
Mary Beth Markey, Vice President for Advocacy for the International Campaign for Tibet, said China’s refusal to accept many of the recommendations on human rights in Tibet raises serious concerns beyond its own engagement in the UPR process.
“The fact that these recommendations could be negotiated away in a back room damages the integrity of the UPR itself, which is intended to be a serious and constructive review of human rights practices, as measured against international norms. We have witnessed a gross and willful politicization of the process by China and its collaborators on the Human Rights Council.”
The U.N. Universal Periodic Review, held every four years, presented the first major opportunity for the international community to hold China to task on its human rights since the Beijing Olympics and the beginning of the crackdown in Tibet last year.
New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Canada, Switzerland and the Czech Republic specifically raised concerns about Tibet at the UPR through a series of recommendations, all of which were rejected by China.
Austria, Portugal, Germany and South Africa raised concerns relating to minority rights in China without specifically referring to the Tibet situation, while Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka focused on defending China’s human rights record. Pakistan characterized ongoing unrest in Tibet as the result of foreign influences.
The Chinese delegation also negotiated the rejection of points on state secrets laws, the death penalty, and other human right issues raised by different countries – ensuring that 70 of 119 recommendations made were excluded from the final draft. The explanation given in the UPR report was that these recommendations “did not enjoy the support of China”.
The Czech Republic, which holds the current Presidency of the European Union, was the only country to refer to specific political prisoners in its statement. It recommended that China end the ‘strike hard campaign’ associated with numerous serious violations of human rights, investigate all cases of police brutality and torture, as e.g. death of Mr. Pema Tsepak in Chambo in January this year, and ensure protection of right of peaceful assembly and to release all persons arrested in this connection.
