EU-China Dialogue on Human Rights
On 14 May 2009 the European Union and the People's Republic of China held the 27th round of the «EU-China Dialogue on Human Rights» in Prague.
The Dialogue provided a platform for a candid and constructive exchange of views between the People's Republic of China and the EU on a wide range of human rights issues.
Taking place one week before the 11th EU-China Summit, the dialogue was conducted in a frank atmosphere and was an occasion to express concerns and differences of opinion with regard to the implementation of international human rights standards in China and the EU.
Key issues for the EU were freedom of expression, including freedom of the press, situation of human rights defenders, situation in Tibet and Xinjiang, death penalty, torture, and the ratification by China of the ICCPR. The EU and China also discussed a number of specific items tied to right to health, in which substantive endeavours of future cooperation were identified. The EU welcomed the recently published Human Rights National Action Plan of the People's Republic of China while pointing at the challenges in its implementation. China raised racism and discrimination in the EU, as issues of concern, pointing to a number of alleged incidents of racial discrimination in some Member States.
Concerning cooperation in international organisations, the EU attached special importance to the honest spirit of UPR, to maintenance of special procedures, both country and thematic, of the Human Rights Council (HRC) and to possible visits of Special Rapporteurs to China. Both sides looked forward to close coordination on issues for the next session of the UN General Assembly and of the Human Rights Council in June. The EU welcomed China's cooperation in the HRC for the renewal of the special procedure on Burma/Myanmar.
The EU and China expressed their commitment to continue the legal seminar, which took place for the 18th time on 12-13 May in Prague, focusing on access to justice and rights of the disabled people. The Parties will now start preparations for the next seminar to be held during the second semester of 2009.
The «EU-China Human Rights Dialogue» has, with short interruptions, taken place bi-annually since 1995. The next regular meeting will be held in the second half of 2009 in Beijing under the Swedish Presidency.
Contact:
- Jiří Beneš, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- tel.: +420 224 182 426, GSM: +420 602 263 056; e-mail: press@mzv.cz
Last update: 16.8.2011 15:21
