By Brendan Sweeney
This new action plan that the Chinese government has published; it’s the first time they’ve ever produced such a document, isn’t it? What significance does it have?
Yes, it’s the first time they've done this. It's based on a recommendation stemming back from the Vienna conference on human rights in 1993 and repeated by the new Human Rights Council. All states were asked to draw up a national human rights action plan. China was examined in the Universal Periodical Review in February and in that session the Chinese government stated that they were in the process of drawing up an action plan and that it would be published soon. It is a promise, one can say, that they made to the international human rights community. One unusual aspect of the plan is the short time period covered – just one and a half years – and the promises and intentions are very broad in scope.
So it is a bit short on practical measures?
It is not very detailed and the targets are not spelled out and then it only runs during 2009 and 2010. However the good thing about it is that because the time period it covers is so short they will soon have to draw up a new plan and that may be more detailed. At least they will have the chance to improve it. There was a lot of criticism that it was too programmatic and didn’t include any indicators or benchmarks. When they have to create a new plan so quickly after the first one there is a good chance that they will accommodate some of these criticisms. However, some critics have not taken the action plan seriously because they maintain that it is impossible to achieve the goals within such a sort timeframe and they tend in general to mistrust the sincerity of the Chinese government.
Are any rights not included in the action plan? What about freedom of religion?
Yes, it’s there. Interestingly, they specifically mention certain groups that need protection such as migrant workers and disabled people. In more general terms, freedom of religion is confirmed and also freedom of speech. It is forward looking. Ever since 1990 the Chinese government has issued white papers. In these they state the achievements they have made and they line up what they intend doing and what they have done already in the human rights field. This is seen as a defensive document but still it has some value. This action plan has a value because it shows that the government cares about international criticism. To create a document like this requires considerable resources. It could have been better but at least it shows that the government would like to be seen as fulfilling their human rights obligations. And also one can see that in the document all the issues that are the normal critique from the international community are mentioned there, the problems of minorities, Xinjiang, Tibet, torture, the death penalty. And there are even some suggestions for how to tackle these issues.
The time period is very narrow. Does this mean that a new action plan will probably be formulated after 2010?
I don’t think there have been any statements about this but I believe it follows logically that if you make an action plan and the time period runs out you should create another one.
Some critics might see this action plan as just a way to pander to the international community. How do you feel about this? Is it a real attempt to tackle human rights issues in China?
I think both yes and no. Of course there is an element of appeasing international criticism in this but I think it also shows that there is a will to change as well as embarrassment about the criticism. The Chinese government is sensitive to criticism. Of course they want it to go away but one has to bear in mind that internally in China there are different voices. Some are very serious about improving human rights and would have been involved in formulating the plan. I know of colleagues we are working with who have contributed to the plan. They have the same goals that we have. There are of course people in the system who only aim to pay lip service to the international community, but there are others who are serious and have influence. However, even if none of them were serious, to create this kind of document makes a difference. It’s important because the way one speaks about human rights influences wider developments in society. In Denmark, for instance, if you speak about Muslims as criminals this affects the way people vote and what laws are passed in parliament.
Ordinary Chinese people, do they know about this plan? Is it something the Chinese media have picked up on?
Ordinary Chinese probably won’t know much about it. But one of my colleagues at DIHR, Bjarne Andreasen, who has just returned from a trip to China, tells me that it has been discussed widely there, although this means that it is being discussed among lawyers and people directly involved in the field of human rights. They feel this action plan supports their work. I remember that when an article on human rights was incorporated into the Chinese constitution in 2004 it had an effect even though it simply acknowledged that the Chinese state complied with human rights [Article 33.3: "The State respects and preserves human rights."]. I remember I asked some of our Chinese colleagues about the new amendment and they all said that it was an encouragement in their work because it meant something to policy makers, legislators and people in the ministries. If you can say that something is enshrined in the constitution it gives human rights advocates a bit more muscle.
A final question: does this new action plan have any practical implications for the work of DIHR in China?
Not immediately. For us and Chinese human rights activists it is an encouragement however. On the other hand we are currently working on a proposal which involves human rights and the environment in China and we are referring to the action plan and its support of the environment and its recognition of the human rights aspects of environmental problems. It is good for us because it shows that human rights are more accepted, and it makes human rights projects easier to implement both for us and our partners. I can give you a practical example of this: One of our longstanding partners in China is the Guangzhou University Centre for Human Rights. They have told us that they will use the action plan to encourage police officers to sign up for human rights courses because the action plan specifically states that law-enforcement personnel should receive training in human rights.
For further information, please contact Brendan Sweeney at