Asked by EUROPE about the EU’s actions to protect Uighurs in China, an EU spokesperson explained on Tuesday 28 July that the European External Action Service and the Commission continued to raise the human rights situation in Xinjiang in their contacts with the Chinese authorities “at all levels, as well as in international fora, including the Human Rights Council currently taking place in Geneva”.
According to the spokesman, the concerns raised by Europeans about Xinjiang have been so far systematically rejected by Chinese officials. “However, we will continue to raise these issues in bilateral meetings with the Chinese authorities and to express our concerns publicly”, he warned.
The spokesman recalled that the EU had also been at the forefront of international efforts to facilitate meaningful access and a conducive environment for visits by independent observers to the region. “This would allow an independent, objective, impartial and transparent assessment of what is happening”, he explained.
Referring to recent allegations about a birth control campaign (see EUROPE 12517/27), the spokesperson insisted that an independent evaluation was crucial, as was the organisation of a “meaningful and transparent” visit by EU ambassadors to China to Xinjiang. According to him, the Europeans are seeking to organise such a visit with the Chinese authorities as soon as the coronavirus situation permits and expect the authorities to authorise and facilitate such visits.
Many MEPs called on the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to take action (see EUROPE 12535/18). Asked about these requests, the EU spokesperson did not answer whether the subject would be discussed at a future Foreign Affairs Council.
According to him, the EU has already put in place export controls on dual-use goods and technologies and has introduced a series of controls on cyber-surveillance technologies. “We are in the process of further strengthening them, through legislation that would allow the EU to react quickly and firmly, in particular to prevent sensitive exports of cyber-surveillance technology due to human rights concerns”, the spokesman said.
For his part, the Trade Commission’s spokesman, Daniel Rosario, had recalled that the Commission was committed to eliminating all forms of violation of fundamental rights, including child and forced labour. “In the context of EU company law policy, due diligence must be applied throughout the supply chain”, the EU spokesperson stressed.
The Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, could propose a legislative proposal on sustainable corporate governance, including environmental and human rights issues, in 2021. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)