News Update - First Week 53rd Commission on Human Rights, Geneva

Chinese Delegation Interrupts Speeches by Swedish and Dutch Foreign Ministers

Geneva, 15 March - China's persistent policy of the implementation of the death penalty and continued detention of Mr. Wei Jingsheng was sharply criticized by Swedish and dutch Foreign Ministers who addressed the 53rd Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights this week. Embarrassed and nervous, Chinese delegates interrupted the speeches, sparking off a confrontational approach at the Commission with Western States.

On 11 March, Mrs. Lena Hjelm-Wallen, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, in her statement said that the Commission on Human Rights must avoid selectivity. This Commission's scrutiny of the human rights situation in small or medium-sized countries "would lack credibility" unless it was prepared to tackle similar problems in more powerful countries. It was therefore the view of the Swedish Government that the human rights situation in China be addressed in substance, she said. Mrs. Hjelm-Wallen also said that Sweden considered the death penalty "inherently inhumane", and expressed concern about the high number of death penalties in China.

That morning, in his first statement to the Commission, Mr. Wu Jianmin, Head of the Chinese delegation and the Permanent Representative of China to the UN here said: "China is the largest developing country. It is one of the major targets as well as a prime victim of name-calling of some Western countries. Yet for the sake of promoting international human rights, we still call for co-operation, and hope to avoid confrontation. However, if some developed countries choose to impose confrontation on us and continue name-calling against China, we will have not alternative but to keep them company."

On 12 March, Mr. Hans van Mierlo, Deputy Prime-Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, speaking on behalf of the European Union (EU) said: "It is our duty to speak out on their behalf, because often they are made speechless by their own government... I refer to Mr. Wei Jingsheng, human rights defender, now languishing in a prison in China... These people are symbolic of thousands whose only crime is that they speak out in favour of human rights and fundamental freedoms. We hold their governments responsible for their health and safety. Their governments cast doubt on their own record by restraining human rights defenders. Their governments should let them go, or they should let an independent judiciary do its work." This EU statement was supported by Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Cyprus.

In a "right of reply", Mr. Li Baodong of the Chinese delegation said that "the human rights record in the history of the Netherlands is by no means glorious. During the colonization process and colonial rule over several centuries, the Dutch colonialists violated human rights on a massive and systematic scale, the consequences of which have not been eliminated completely even till today."

The next day, the representative of the Netherlands said that the interruption by the Chinese delegate of the statement on behalf of the European Union by Mr. Hans van Mierlo was an example of "discourteous behavior" towards guest speakers. He also said that the Netherlands had never denied that human rights violations had occurred during its colonial period. However, the country currently had a strong commitment to protecting and promoting human rights. When would the present Chinese Government take responsibility for continuing human rights violations in China, he asked.

As the Commission concluded its first week of work, both the European Union and the United States of America, the principal sponsors of resolutions on China at the Commission between 1992- 96, failed to announce their decision on a China resolution at this year's session. Meanwhile, the Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Romano Paoul, announced Thursday that his country would support a resolution against China at the Commission after media reports said that Italy was one of the European Union countries which was against such a resolution.

The UN Commission on Human Rights was established in 1946 with 18 original member countries. The membership was increased to 21 in 1961, to 32 in 1966, to 43 in 1979, and to 53 in 1990. The 53 member-countries are elected for a term of three years by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. 15 members come from Africa, 12 from Asia, 5 from Eastern Europe, 11 from Latin American and Caribbean States, and 10 from Western Europe and other States.

The 53rd session of the UN Commission on Human Rights began its six-week annual session here at the United Nations on Monday, encountering a massive Tibetan demonstration to commemorate the 38th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day in Geneva. The demonstration forwarded a memorandum to the Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights, appealing to member-States to adopt a resolution on China to condemn its human rights record in Tibet. The memorandum was received by Mr. Goerg Mautner-Markhof at his office on behalf of the Chairman and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The official Tibetan delegation during the first week of the Commission were Kalon Tashi Wangdi, Mrs. Chungdak D. Koren, Mr. Bhugyal and Mr. Ngawang C. Drakmargyapon. Kalon Tashi Wangdi met with government and NGO delegates at the Commission to brief them about the current human rights situation in Tibet and the urge for their support for the passage of the resolution against China.

Tibet Bureau for UN Affairs

Geneva, SWITZERLAND

Sent on E-mail by Office of Tibet, New York