Recommendations 

• CHRD recommends the Chinese community of human rights defenders, including citizens of all backgrounds who are concerned about rights abuses should continue to push for new space and channels for the advancement of grassroots human rights movements. They should rely on rational and peaceful strategies, through promoting democratic and legal reform, to realize the protection of human rights. CHRD continues to encourage Chinese citizens to participate in monitoring the government’s fulfillment of its international obligations in protecting human rights and ensuring the safety and freedom of rights defenders. 

• CHRD urges that the Chinese government demonstrate its resolve to increase respect for the Chinese Constitution and the international human rights conventions China has signed or ratified. In particular:

(1) The Chinese government should provide a safe and free environment for human rights defenders to carry out their work and exercise their right to defend human rights without fear for their own safety and liberty.

(2) To protect their safety and freedom, it is necessary that China’s legislators, the National People’s Congress, to review the constitutionality of the laws/policies regulating NGO registration, Internet information service control and website registration, collective lawsuits, lawyers’ license renewal procedures, unrestricted police power in detaining, surveillance, torture to force confession, etc.

(3) To end official actions stopping activists, lawyers, or intellectuals from attending international human rights conferences or trainings, or threatening them with sanctions.   

•  CHRD requests the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and international human rights organizations to conduct thorough investigations on abuses against human rights defenders, to assist in strengthening the capacity of China’s human rights defenders, and to help in improving their working environment. In particular:

(1) We recommend that the UN Human Rights Council make the situation of human rights defenders a priority in its work, and provide more resources to the Special Representative on human rights defenders to contribute to this;

(2) We recommend that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Development Program propose working with the government of China to create a National Plan of Action on Human Rights, which would include involvement of NGOs and human rights defenders, and addresses the need for reform of relevant laws and creating an enabling environment for human rights defenders. Preparation of such a plan would be an important part of stimulating domestic dialogue on human rights as well.

(3) We recommend we recommend that the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on human rights defenders request a visit to China at the earliest possible opportunity.

(4) Expand training programs on international human rights to truly independent activists and human rights lawyers in China. Many human rights defenders are in urgent need of training and an international support network, but few have access to such services that are officially permitted inside China. We recommend that governments concerned about human rights in China, such as those engaging in “dialogues,” contribute funds to the training of human rights defenders by international organizations, such as the International Service for Human Rights in Geneva.

(5) Enhance information on international human rights principals and instruments. A major contribution to the work of human rights defenders in China would be to make the UN human rights documents available on line.  Currently, very few documents are available in Chinese online, and even the treaty body documents relating to China’s reporting are not accessible to people in China. Governments concerned about human rights in China should make dedicated contributions to the OHCHR to build up its Chinese-language website with human rights documents being a priority. The Chinese government’s firewalls, email filters/surveillance and website bans must be raised as a serious human rights concern.

(6) Governments engaged in “human rights dialogues” with the Chinese government must assess and improve the effectiveness of these high-profile engagements. In particular, they should solicit opinions from non-governmental human rights defenders and create specific guidelines for the evaluation of the effectiveness of past expenditures and years of closed-door “dialoguing.” Dialogue on human rights has not served as a substitute for concrete action and certain indicate little progress in actual protection.

(7) Concerned governments should urge the release of imprisoned defenders, and, when possible, directly raise concerns about specific cases with the government, pressing it to comply with its international human rights obligations. 
 
 

About this report: 

This report is the second annual report on human rights defenders from CHRD.  It has been compiled by Chinese activists, including scholars and lawyers, with editorial and language assistance from international supporters.  It covers the situation of human rights defenders from January 1 to December 31, 2006, but information on important developments in early 2007 has been added as much as possible. On February 15, 2007, CHRD circulated in the rights defenders’ community a draft in Chinese for feedback.  The current version (English) has been revised on the basis of the corrections and suggestions from members of this community.  CHRD also solicited responses from the Chinese government, so far without any success. An earlier draft of this English version was submitted on March 23, 2007, to Hina Jilani, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders (via the UN High Commissioner’s Office of Human Rights, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneve 10) before her speech at the UN Human Rights Council meeting on March 28. 

For more information about this report, please contact: networkcrd@gmail.com.