EU prepares for UN meeting - Human Rights and China

Wednesday 16 February, 2000 - Briefing MEPs on progress made in the year

by the EU in the area of Human Rights and indeed preparations under way

for the next session of the UN Commission to take place on 20 March

2000, Council President-in-Office Luis AMADO said all options were open

as far as the EU was concerned in taking a position on a Human Rights

resolution with regard to China, likely to be tabled by the USA. The

last attempt by the US failed when China used its veto, but Mr Amado

emphasised that the EU did expect to see some positive signs from China

on the Human Rights front. He held out the possibility of China agreeing

to a text on "economic and social" rights and said that a number of

Human Rights cases would be raised at the next meeting with China on 25

February. While the Chinese authorities had indicated a willingness to

take "positive steps", he had to confess that this willingness had not

been translated into positive action. Nevertheless, he emphasised his

support for the Commission's freedom of action on the Human Rights

front. He also pointed out that Human Rights issues, including

children's rights in a wide number of countries ranging from Iraq to the

Sudan had been discussed by Council over the past year.

Continuing the Human Rights theme, Commissioner Chris PATTEN

acknowledged that much remained to be done especially in what he felt

were the three problem areas of the death penalty, Cuba and China. He

expressed concern about the increasing number of people held in

detention in Cuba and said that the situation was being monitored

closely. Nevertheless, he emphasised that he did not support a policy

which would in effect isolate Cuba. Rather, he favoured measures that

would support the transition to democracy.

As far as China was concerned, despite the euro25bn trade surplus with

the EU, the Commission did not intend to remain silent. The problem was

to respond to the human rights situation in the most effective way.

Despite economic progress in China, there was what he termed "a dark

side" to the country especially where human rights was concerned. He

instanced the situation in Tibet and the case of the "Falun Gong".

Nevertheless, on the positive side he felt the "village governance"

programme was achieving results in promoting democracy at grassroots

levels. On a wider front, while China's decision to sign various UN

conventions on human rights was welcomed, he was now looking to

ratification. As far as the position of the individual EU member states

was concerned, he emphasised the need for more imagination and to adopt

a common position that could be maintained by all the countries

concerned. It was, he emphasised, vital to convince both the European

Parliament and voluntary groups as well as the public at large that

present policy with regard to China was in fact getting somewhere.