OTTAWA, 26 February, 2002 - Canada must insist on clear commitments from China to improve its human rights record at this year's UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR), say Canadian non-governmental groups meeting with Government officials today in Ottawa.

Citing the importance of strong multilateral pressure on China, the NGOs voiced concern that China is using the fight against terrorism to justify its own "strike hard" campaign against democracy and labour activists, religious groups such as the Falun Gong [...].

Expressing frustration with Canada's "dialogue-only" strategy with China, the groups presented a list of prisoners to Canadian officials requesting follow-up information on each case. They also made three recommendations in preparation for the UNCHR session set to begin in mid-March in Geneva.

1. Canada should table a resolution on human rights violations in China and Tibet

The United States' failure to regain its seat at the UNCHR diminishes the chances that a resolution on China will be tabled at this year's Commission session. Canadian NGOs argue that the mere threat of a "China resolution" at the UNCHR each year places significant pressure on China to improve its record. This pressure has resulted in some gains in past years, including China's ratification of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the release of high-profile prisoners. Without a resolution, NGOs fear that there will be no pressure for China to respect international human rights standards. Canada stopped co-sponsoring the resolution in 1997, adopting a dialogue process instead. NGOs argue that the dialogue has not produced any concrete results and that rights violations have continued unabated during the past year.

2. Canada should challenge China's use of a "no-action" motion to prevent debate of its human rights record

China's use of the no-action procedural motion has brought the credibility of the UNCHR into question by allowing a member State to avoid any discussion of its record. China's use of the no-action motion, which has succeeded every year since 1990, except 1995, means that the resolution dies a quick death on the floor without any debate or vote between delegates. On February 2, 2002 China used the no-action motion in the UN General Assembly for the first time, successfully blocking the accreditation of Tibet groups to an upcoming UN event on Sustainable Development.

3. Canada should ensure the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture be given unrestricted access to China

A planned visit by the Special Rapporteur on Torture to China last year was delayed by China's refusal to respect standard terms of reference for such missions. The Rapporteur, Nigel Rodley, refused to compromise and the visit was cancelled. A new rapporteur, Dutch human rights lawyer Theo van Boven, has recently been named and China has made some public statements indicating that it will welcome a renewal of visit negotiations. Canada must ensure that the visit goes ahead without delay but only if the rapporteur is given complete freedom to travel and to meet with prisoners in accordance with standard UN guidelines.

Contacts: (Contact names and phone numbers omitted)

Amnesty International (http://www.amnesty.ca/ttop) - Canadian Section

Canadian Labour Congress (http://www.clc-ctc.ca/ttop)

Democracy China-Ottawa

Friends of Falun Gong Association of Canada

Rights & Democracy

PEN Canada (http://www.pencanada.ca//ttop)

Toronto Association for Democracy in China

Uighur Canada Association

http://serveur.ichrdd.ca/english/commdoc/prelease/chinaCommission2002.html