Full Report with Executive Summary [PDF, 109K]Abridged Chinese Translation of the Report [PDF, 84K]
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Despite recent domestic reform efforts and the PRC's increasingly sophisticated use of human rights language and processes, substantial gaps remain between the international legal framework, and Chinese laws and practices. Persistent inequalities deprive vulnerable groups of basic human rights. Ongoing crackdowns on Chinese rights defenders and independent civil society voices, one of the world's highest execution rates in a system that lacks fundamental safeguards, and the prevalence of torture all undermine the right to life, liberty and security of the person. Major obstacles to the administration of justice and the rule of law persist, including a lack of transparency and accountability, the sweeping information control of the state secrets system, and the deplorable practice of administrative detention.
Human Rights in China's (HRIC) submission for the Universal Periodic Review of the PRC focuses on several pressing concerns summarized below with relevant recommendations.
- Close the gap between international and domestic law, and between the scope of international obligations
and actual practice.
- Reform the State Secrets system, which undercuts the Chinese constitutional and legislative framework for protecting human rights.
- Review policy measures like
the household registration system (hukou), the one child policy and
administrative detention that exacerbate deprivations of basic rights.
- Remove obstacles to cooperation with international human rights mechanisms, and allow the participation of independent Chinese voices in international human
rights mechanisms.
- Address the lack of equality for vulnerable groups, including women,
ethnic minority groups (Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Mongols), and migrants.
- Ensure that primary education attains the constitutionally guaranteed
universal, compulsory status.
- Cease ongoing crackdowns, narrow the scope of the death penalty, prevent the continuing practice of torture, and abolish the "legal black hole" that is administrative detention, in order to protect the right to life, liberty and security of the person.
- To promote the administration of justice and the rule of law, abolish administrative detention such as
Reeducation-Through-Labor, reform the State Secrets Law, and end crackdowns on
rights defense lawyers.
- Cease Internet censorship and crackdowns on press freedom that violate freedom of expression, and undermine the right to meaningfully participate in public and political life.
Full Report with Executive Summary [PDF, 109K]Abridged Chinese Translation of the Report [PDF, 84K]
HRIC prepared four charts that track recommendations regarding China made during the February 2009 Universal Periodic Review session:
Summary Chart of Rejected UPR Recommendations [PDF, 45K] Summary Chart of Accepted UPR Recommendations [PDF, 42K] Summary Chart of UPR Recommendations Already Implemented [PDF, 18K]Summary Chart of UPR Recommendations to Be Examined [PDF, 20K]Related links:
- China's national report: English (PDF, 220K), Chinese (PDF, 287K)
- OHCHR's summary report of NGO submissions for the PRC review: English (PDF, 78K), Chinese (PDF, 256K)
- UPR live webcast (February 9, 2009, 9AM-12PM [Geneva time], 4PM-7PM [Beijing time])
- Human Rights Council main site
- Universal Periodic Review main site
