Brussels, 22/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 22 October, a political adviser from the European External Action Service (EEAS), Joëlle Hivonnet, said that the international community, including the EU, was not able to get the human rights situation improved in China.
“We are all collectively failing. We are not able to get the human rights situation improved in China”, Hivonnet stated at a debate on the situation in Tibet that took place in the European Parliament's sub-committee on human rights. “We must coordinate our efforts with other partners and hope that we'll be able to convince our Chinese partners of the fact that in order to have sustainable development the population must be allowed to have its say in this development”, she added.
Several campaigners for Tibet called on the EU and its member states to do more for human rights in China. The EU policy director for the International Campaign for Tibet, Vince Metten, called on the EU and its member states to strengthen the coordination between member states and institutions, but also with other third countries on the issue of human rights in China and Tibet. He also asked the EU to encourage China to resume the Chinese-Tibetan dialogue - which has been at a standstill since January 2010. The EU should also put human rights clauses into any past agreement and it should conduct an impact analysis on human rights as part of the investment agreement with China, in Metten's view.
The nephew of Tibetan lama Tenzin Delek Rinpoche who died in prison called on the European Parliament to conduct an investigation into his uncle's death and the deaths of other Tibetans who have passed away in prison, so as to know whether these are cases of deliberate killing or negligence from the Chinese authorities. In his view, there are over 2,100 political prisoners in Tibet. He also underlined the problems of the freedom of religion and the possibility of learning Tibetan in school.
The EU special envoy for human rights, Stavros Lambrinidis, is soon to visit China. Furthermore, the next EU-China human rights dialogue will take place on 30 November. According to Hivonnet, minority rights will a subject for discussion at the dialogue - as will the freedom of religion and assembly. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)