Brussels, 11/02/2000 (Agence Europe) - Human rights NGOs have been highly critical of the "European Union decision to prefer tranquil diplomacy to multilateral pressure as a means of improving human rights in the People's Republic of China". Joining their efforts for the first time, just a month before the meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Amnesty International, the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, Human Rights in China, Human Rights Watch, International Campaign for Tibet and Reporters sans frontières called on the EU, at a joint press conference on Thursday in Brussels, to support the resolution on human rights the United States will put before the UN. The Council's experts have not managed to come to agreement so far, but the NGOs hope Monday's General Affairs Council will adopt a position on this question.
According to the organisations, the policy of "constructive dialogue" with China being pursued by the European Union since 1997, after UN resolutions were abandoned, "has proved futile for stopping violations and even more so for promoting progress on fundamental human rights". Not only did international pressure lead to only one-off results, such as the sparing release of a few dissidents, but repression has increased since it ceased, note the NGOs. "As a result of dialogue, China made symbolic undertakings such as its promise to sign United Nations conventions on social and political rights and allowing a visit by UN Human Rights High Commissioner Mary Robinson, but there has been no real change in China", commented Dick Oosting of Amnesty International. For Chen Maiping of Human Rights in China, "European governments have been happy with the showcase of political dialogue, provided it did not interfere with internal affairs", whereas pressure is indispensable; it also enables the Chinese fighting for rights in their country "not to feel alone". "So far, discussions with Member States have always focused not on the real human rights situation in China but on the wrong reasons not to table a resolution. (…) The situation is different this year because it is clear that dialogue on human rights has achieved no results and the session last October was a dismal failure, even in participants' view", said Lotte Leicht of Human Rights Watch.