Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-09-23-Speech-4-046"
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"en.20100923.3.4-046"2
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"Mr President, honourable Members of Parliament, the issue raised in this question is indeed one that concerns fundamental human rights, which are core values of the European Union and which are also central to the Union’s external action.
I can assure you of the Commission’s fundamental attachment to human rights, as well as to the core Conventions of the International Labour Organisation, including the one on forced labour. At the same time, you are also aware of how delicate an issue this is in our relations with China.
The Commission fully agrees with the European Parliament that the laogai system is completely incompatible with universally-accepted concepts of human rights, as well as China’s ambitions to become a modern and developed society. The maintenance of this system is also wholly incompatible with China’s stated commitment to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which it signed twelve years ago.
The European Union is indeed faced with the problem that goods produced in laogai, under those very conditions which we condemned, may well be imported into the European Union. However, it is extremely difficult to accurately establish whether – and which – goods imported from China into the European Union have been produced in laogai.
In response to previous queries by the European Parliament – as well as civil society organisations – the European Union has consistently raised the matter with China in recent years, particularly in the context of the bi-annual Human Rights Dialogue.
In this context, the European Union has underlined that the laogai system violates several articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and in particular Article 8, which prohibits forced or compulsory labour, and Article 9, which states that no one should be imprisoned without a proper trial.
To date, the European Union has preferred to use an approach of positive engagement with China, rather than making use of an import ban. However, we have to acknowledge that there are limits to this approach which, so far, has not produced any notable change in Chinese policy as regards Laogai.
We also have to recognise that China is not the only country where the issue of prison labour is a matter of concern. The Commission is therefore open to revisiting the question of the most effective way to apply pressure on countries that make use of prison labour, in violation of fundamental human rights principles and of the Conventions of the International Labour Organisation. However, this will have to be done in a horizontal way and should not be limited to China only.
We would welcome Parliament’s further views on this issue and will keep you informed on further developments."@en1
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