With the creation of the HRC in 2006, this mechanism was established, to which the 193 States that make up the UN submit, from the most closed dictatorships to the most developed democracies. The UPR includes three reports, one prepared by the country under review, another by interested parties – human rights organizations, for example – and one with the compilation of information prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The latter draws on the reports of the various UN special procedures and allows the state of human rights in the country examined to be evaluated. In the case of China, this compilation reminds it that it must ratify several international instruments, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The various UN Committees point out serious human rights violations in China: ill-treatment of human rights defenders deprived of their liberty remained endemic and could amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; widespread censorship, the lack of independence of the judiciary and the growing political interference in the judiciary observed in recent years; cases of sexual violence and other forms of gender violence against women human rights defenders by the police and other State officials.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights himself points out his concern over the fact that two prominent human rights defenders in China had been sentenced to long prison terms, contrary to the norms of international human rights law. The High Commissioner also highlighted the importance of taking measures to ensure that other human rights defenders are not targeted for exercising their human rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
China is also accused of restricting civic space, which the CIVICUS organization describes as “closed,” given the criminalization of freedom of association and the right to protest, and the prohibition of the right to strike.
The situation of Tibetans, Uyghurs and Hong Kongers is very present in this compilation. In this regard, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern at reports that some Tibetans, Uyghurs and members of other ethnic minorities, human rights defenders and peaceful political protesters had been subjected to torture or other types of ill-treatment, and that some Uighurs deprived of liberty had been held incommunicado for prolonged periods, exposing them to the risk of torture and other types of ill-treatment.
Likewise, China is requested to immediately abolish the coercive boarding school system imposed on Tibetan children and allow the creation of private Tibetan schools; and protect cultural diversity and the cultural practices and heritage of religious minorities, including the practices of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Hui and Mongolians.
The compilation also indicates that he was concerned that Tibetans were subject to significant restrictions on movement in and out of the Tibet Autonomous Region; that the issuance of passports to travel abroad was almost completely prohibited in the region; that the teaching of Tibetan in schools in the Tibet Autonomous Region was not on an equal footing with that of Chinese in legislation, policies and practices, and had been significantly restricted; that the promotion of the Tibetan language be punished; and that Tibetans did not have access to interpretation services in their language during court proceedings, which took place in Mandarin.
Several special procedures mandate holders stated that the Government of China should provide information on nine Tibetan environmental human rights defenders who were serving prison sentences of up to 11 years. They were imprisoned as a result of the work they did peacefully to protect fragile environments.
Concern is also expressed over allegations that so-called “worker transfer” and “vocational training” programs in the Tibet Autonomous Region were used as a pretext to undermine Tibetan religious, linguistic and cultural identity, and for political surveillance and indoctrination. to Tibetans, and warns that such programs could lead to situations of forced labor.
For its part, the OHCHR declared that serious human rights violations had been committed in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and called for the immediate release of all persons arbitrarily deprived of liberty in this territory.
Regarding Hong Kong, concern is noted regarding academics, journalists and civil society representatives detained and accused of sedition crimes for having legitimately exercised their right to freedom of expression, such as chanting slogans in public, applauding in courts and criticizing Government activities, and calls for the National Security Law to be urgently repealed.
Faced with China’s fourth UPR, the number of violations of fundamental freedoms that occur there and the fact that this country is one of the few that has been a member of the UN Human Rights Council for the longest number of years, democratic countries Those who express in their foreign policy the international commitment to the defense of human rights will then have the opportunity to make said commitment effective and not become accomplices to the silence sought by the largest dictatorship in the world.
* Director General of CADAL (www.cadal.org)