Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-08-Speech-4-153"
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"en.20050908.19.4-153"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I am going to reply on behalf of my fellow Member, Mrs Ferrero-Waldner.
Although significant progress has been made on human rights issues in China over recent years, in particular in the area of economic and social rights, the European Union remains concerned by the overall human rights situation in the country and, more specifically, by the restrictions on civil and political rights that have been enforced.
Respect for human rights is, in fact, a crucial component of the European Union’s external policy. The European Union has regularly raised this issue with the Chinese authorities in a frank and open manner, both through political dialogue – including at the top level, as was recently the case during the last bilateral summit held in Beijing on 5 September – and through the bilateral dialogue specifically devoted to human rights.
In the framework of the European-Chinese dialogue, the issue of freedom of belief, religion, expression and association has always been one of the main priorities of the European Union. The Union, in particular, has continually expressed its deep concern regarding the situation of individuals who have been persecuted or stripped of their fundamental rights for having openly practised their faith, no matter, moreover, what their religion or belief. A number of imprisoned religious figures mentioned by Members of this House appear on the list of individual cases that the Union systematically sends to its Chinese negotiating partners in the framework of the human rights dialogue. Furthermore, the European Union has, on several occasions, officially approached the Chinese authorities through its representatives in Beijing. Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche and Pastor Zhang Rongliang – to mention some recent examples – are among those on whom these actions have been focused.
The abolition of the death penalty, or at least the introduction of a moratorium on its application, China’s swift ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and cooperation with the United Nations’ mechanisms also feature among the priority issues regularly addressed with the Chinese authorities. In the latter case, the European Union specifically made calls, during the last session of the human rights dialogue held in Luxembourg on 24 and 25 February 2005, for the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief to be able to travel to China as soon as possible.
The European Union undoubtedly intends to continue and develop the dialogue with Beijing in the area of human rights through seminars connected to these issues. Alongside the dialogue, these seminars also make it possible to raise the awareness of certain major players in Chinese civil society. We hope that the next session of the specific dialogue on human rights, which will take place in Beijing on 24 and 25 October 2005, will enable significant progress to be made."@en1
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