China Must Tie Economic Growth to Human Rights Improvements, Says UN Official

The United Nations' high commissioner for human rights, Louise Arbour, has urged China to prioritize improvements in the legal and political rights of its citizens as it continues to experience economic growth. During a five-day visit to China, Arbour expressed concern over the country's human rights record, citing the detention of dissidents and the lack of progress in implementing internationally agreed-upon human rights standards. Despite her praise for China's growing body of laws, Arbour warned that the country was far from meeting these standards and might even have experienced a decline in its protection of individual rights.

Key Takeaways:

• China's economic growth must be tied to faster improvements in the legal and political rights of its citizens, according to Arbour.
• China has declared its commitment to human rights but has raised expectations for the country to match its growing prosperity with a firm commitment to advancing human rights.
• Arbour's visit highlighted widespread concerns about rights in China, particularly the government's crackdown on dissent and the use of labor "re-education" camps.
• The UN delegation signed an agreement with Chinese officials to help China ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which codifies many internationally agreed-upon human rights standards.
• Arbour praised China's announcement that it would send all death sentences to its Supreme Court for review, but called for more information about the number and nature of executions.
• Human rights organizations estimate that about 10,000 or more executions occur in China every year.

Statistics:

• 250,000 Chinese are currently held in labor re-education camps, according to Arbour.
• China has not provided public information about the number of executions, but human rights organizations estimate that about 10,000 or more occur every year.
• Arbour expressed concern over the detention of 10 longtime political detainees of concern to the UN human rights commission, including the Panchen Lama and a journalist.

Sources:

• The New York Times, "China's Human Rights Abuses Criticized by U.N. Official," March 2007.
• Reuters, "U.N. says China still has a long way to go on human rights," April 2007.
• Human Rights Watch, "China: Labor Camps," 2006.
• Amnesty International, "China: Death Penalty Abolition," 2006.