Review 2009

. A/HRC/WG.6/4/CHN/1 - A, C, E, F, R, S

. A/HRC/WG.6/4/CHN/2 - A, C, E, F, R, S

. A/HRC/WG.6/4/CHN/3 - A, C, E, F, R, S

. Advance written questions + Add.1

. Summary by ISHR + Chinese

. UN press release

. Full webcast. For the webcast per speaker, see here.

For statements in writing, see the OHCHR extranet.

. A/HRC/WG.6/4/L.11: Report adopted "ad referendum"

. Full webcast. For the webcast per speaker, see here.

. A/HRC/11/37: Report of the eleventh session of the Human Rights Council

. UN press release

. Webcast of the plenary. For the webcast per speaker, see here.

. Statement by China

. The following states took the floor: United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Algeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Russian Federation and Bahrain.

For all the statements made by States, see the OHCHR extranet.

 The following observers took the floor:
. Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF)
. United Nations Association of China (UNA CHINA)
. Federation of Cuban Women
. Amnesty International
. China Ngo Network For International Exchanges
. China Association For Preservation And Development Of Tibetan Culture
. China Care and Compassion Society (Cccs)
. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
. Joint Submission: Society for Threatened Peoples, Reporters without Borders-International
. Joint Submission: Mouvement Contre Le Racisme Et Pour L’amitie Entre Les Peuples (MRAP), Interfaith International, Asian Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Network (AITPN)
. Human Rights Watch
. China Society For Human Rights Studies (CSHRS)

. A/HRC/11/25 - A, C, E, F, R, S: Final Report

. List of all recommendations made to China and its responses to them.

• China

. 13th HRC session- 19 March 2010

“I would like to report on a voluntary basis our implementation of the outcome of the review. In February 2009 China was reviewed under the UPR. After the review and on the basis of the outcome of the review, the Chinese government in April has issued a National Human Rights Action Plan, the first of its kind. This is an important policy document aimed at comprehensively promote China Human rights. In the past year, in spite of the financial crisis, the Chinese government has actively implemented an Action Plan and adopted a serious of measures to expand domestic demand restructured economy, promote growth and improve people’s living standards. We focused our efforts in employment, healthcare, social security and education. Our social insurance scheme has been improved. We increased investments in education to insure right of education for our citizens. We strengthen democracy and the rule of law and improved the participation of its citizens in political life, ensuring the right to information and participation on politics. With regard to law enforcement and administration of justice, emphasis has been put on human rights protection. Ad hoc campaigns have been launched to prevent extraction of confessions by torture and punishing those responsible for it. Rights of ethnic minorities, women and children, elderly and people with disabilities have been further enhanced. The State enhanced the building of disabled people and social security service system. Implementation has been going as planned and preliminary achievements have been obtained. However, due to the persistence of the financial crisis, we still face difficulties in social and economic development. We still face difficulties in the implementation of the outcome of the review. However the government is fully committed to continue the implementation of HR Action Plan and the UPR outcome and to enable our people to live In happiness and dignity”.

. 15th HRC session- 23 September 2010

“Despite the specific situation in China, the government is trying very hard to implement the recommendations. The legal construction concerning HR in China has made great progress. The People’s Congress adopted the amendment for elections law and the elections in rural and urban areas realized the objective of equal rights. We amended the State Compensation Law in an effort to further protect the rights of the prisoners and if extortion of confessions by torture is carried out then the police in question will be punished. The 13 items for death sentences have been removed from the Penal Code and this is a constructive substantive measure for the control of death sentence. The China command is trying hard to maintain the high growth of national economy and improve people livelihood in the realization of MDGs. At present China has possibly exceeded certain goals high of schedule for instance poor population in rural areas decreased 85 millions (20 years ago) to 35 millions. And nine years compulsory education coverage rate has reached 99.3 %. The China government will make further efforts to make more achievements before 2015 make efforts and contributions to the realization of MDGs. China government pays great attention to the development and protection of HR in Xinjiang and other ethnic minority areas the government held a seminar in May to work out the road map for long term stability and development for Xinjiang. The assessment for progress is undergoing smoothly the implementation rather of the outcomes is proceeding smoothly. As the most popular countries in protection of HR and fundamental freedoms China face with great challenges . China government will make further efforts in the specific situation of the country to overcome difficulties and cooperate with relevant UN organizations and mechanisms to promote economic development and human rights course”.

. 16th HRC session - 18 March 2011

“Since our UPR in February 2009 we actively implemented the relevant recommendation. The outcome has maintained the fast and sustained growth of our national economy. We attach importance to raising our peoples livelihood and we have increased investment in education and in health areas. We have expanded employment opportunities for the rural areas and urban areas, and we have also raised the standard for the minimum wage and pension system. We have also paid attention to our legal system development and the right interest to vulnerable groups and development of minority groups. ”

• NGOs

. 14th HRC session - 11 June 2010

Human Rights Watch:

“Human Rights Watch welcomes the update provided by the Chinese delegation in March 2010, during which its representative stated that” with regard to law enforcement and administration of justice, emphasis has been placed on preventing the extraction of confessions by torture and punishing those responsible for it”. In addition it stressed that “the rights of ethnic minorities are further enhanced”. In May 2010 the government announced its intention to issue two regulations delineating the procedure to invalidate the evidence obtained under torture in cases involving the death penalty. Yet the failure to uphold other rights that underlie the prevention of torture casts doubt whether the government’s latest step will work. Criminal defendants in China still do not have the right to remain silent. Police regularly denies lawyers access to their clients in detention., despite long enshrined legal guarantees that they are entitled to do so. While these new commitments can be welcomed, the real test is whether they will be enforced and supported to actually end the endemic practice of torture in police custody. The government’s claims regarding the rights of ethnic minorities ,must also be vigorously questioned. Six months after China’s UPR, the first episode of unrest in decades rocked Uighur, the capital of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous region. The unrest appears to have been sparked by an attack by Uighurs in the southeast part of the country which served as a rallying cry for Uighurs angry over longstanding discriminatory policies in Xinjiang. The initially peaceful Uighur demonstration quickly turned into a violent attack against Han Chinese, leaving scores dead or injured. Instead of launching an impartial investigation onto the July 2009 incidents in accordance with international and domestic standards, Chinese law enforcement agencies carried out a massive campaign of arrests in the Uighur areas of Urumqi, and over the past year, had continued to rely on broad and indiscriminate coercion and intimidation, and preventing any expression of discontent. In September 2009, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights identified “discrimination and the failiure to protect minority rights as ”underlying causes” behind the protests in Tibet and Xinjiang. The Chinese government has not follow through on its own statements at the February 2009 UPR: that it “welcomed Mme Pillay to visit China at the mutually convenient to both sides,” and that it was “also considering inviting another UN Special Rapporteur to visit China this year”. Further repression, whether it be torture of detainees or discriminatory policies against ethnic minorities, will breed precisely the kind of instability the Chinese government fears. Addressing underlying grievances, holding abuse officials to account, and genuinely cooperating with relevant UN bodies will materially contribute to the Chinese government ‘s stated desire for its citizens to “live in happiness and dignity”.