European Parliament Resolution April 18
The European Parliament passed a resolution calling for action on the human rights issues in China. The resolution, which was passed by an overwhelming majority on April 18, addressed human rights abuses, “notably the situation of religious and ethnic minorities”, and called for specific actions, referring specifically to Tibetans and Uyghurs.
Article 2 of the resolution “calls on the Chinese Government to immediately end the practice of arbitrary detentions, without charge, trial or conviction for criminal offence, of members of the Uyghur and Kazakh minority and Tibetans, to close all camps and detention centres and to release the detained persons immediately and unconditionally”.
It goes on to call for the immediate release of arbitrarily detained people, prisoners of conscience and for a stop to be put to enforced disappearances, mentioning Tibetan activists, writers and religious figures, including specific detainees by name.
Article 8 “calls on the Chinese authorities to uphold the linguistic, cultural, and religious and other fundamental freedoms of Tibetans”, and to stop favouring Han Chinese to the “disadvantage of Tibetans”. Also included is a call to stop forcing nomads to “abandon their lifestyle” and to end “patriotic education”, including control of education in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.
Article 13 calls on EU member states “to prevent any activities undertaken by the Chinese in the EU’s territory to harass […] Tibetans”. China was called on to allow unrestricted entry to journalists, diplomats, and international observers.
EU–China Human Rights Dialogue April 1–2
The 37th round of the EU–China Human Rights Dialogue took place in Brussels from April 1–2, a session for discussion on human rights related issues in China and in the EU, exploring areas for enhanced cooperation in the future. China promoted its achievements in social and economic rights, particularly in the fields of employment, poverty alleviation and social protection and looked at the outcome of its recent Universal Periodic Review and its interpretation of international laws.
The EU insisted equal weight must be given to political and civil rights, and that international laws and standards must be applied. The EU also addressed the detention by China of a significant number of human rights defenders and lawyers; individuals persecuted for their religious beliefs and Tibetan writers and activists.
EU–China Summit April 9
Human Rights Watch reported that in advance of the EU–China Summit scheduled to place on April 9, five human rights organisations called for European Union leaders to put pressure on the Chinese for their human rights abuses.
HRW reported that the five organisations said that in the weeks leading up to the summit, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, and later French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker “failed to publicly reference or call for an end to growing human rights violations in China” despite “multiple opportunities” to raise concerns.
Following the Summit, a joint statement was released on April 9 which stated, “The EU and China reaffirm the strength of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership [and] their resolve to work together for peace, prosperity and sustainable development.” Point 10 of the statement stated, “The EU and China reaffirm that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated […] and will continue to conduct exchanges on human rights at the bilateral and international levels on the basis of equality and mutual respect.”
Apr 18: EU Resolution
The European Parliament passed a resolution on the suppression of human rights in China, giving special mention to the plight of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and Christians. The resolution calls on the EU and its member states to actively raise these issues internationally, including with the Human Rights Council. It also called for a resolution to the Tibetan crisis: eight of the 22 substantive recommendations were specific to Tibet.
China Retaliates to Criticisms at HRC Session
Human Rights Watch said in a report dated April 1 that “China used pressure and warnings to stifle criticism of its poor human rights record throughout the United Nations Human Rights Council session that concluded on March 22, 2019, in Geneva”, and continued, “China provided no credible response to concerns raised about the government’s rights violations.”
The HRW statement also detailed nine attempts by China to quash criticism or distort the facts listed in their recent Universal Period Review (UPR) at the United Nations Human Rights Council session in Geneva last month. John Fisher, Geneva Director of Human Rights Watch, said, “It speaks volumes that China felt it necessary to twist arms and mount propaganda displays to try to suppress scrutiny of its rights record […] Now it’s up to governments to take action at the June Council session and show that China is being held to international rights standards.”
In advance of the session, China attempted to intimidate ambassadors in Geneva, sending a letter to delegates regarding a side event on Xinjiang. The letter, signed by Ambassador YU Jianhua, said, “In the interest of our bilateral relations and continued multilateral cooperation, I hereby kindly request your delegation, bearing in mind the political motivation behind the above-mentioned side event, not to co-sponsor, participate in or be present at this side event.”
Print
Email