Repository of United Nations recommendations on human rights in China

Latest updates, 12 November 2024

This repository compiles all recommendations issued by UN human rights bodies to the Government of the People's Republic of China since 2018, the year of its third Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

Since 2018, there have been 117 letters ('communications') from the UN Special Procedures (Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups) and 24 opinions from the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) sent to the Chinese government, concerning 148 individuals including 109 human rights defenders, in addition to at least 3’257 individuals in DPRK refugees’ cases. 

As of July 2024, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) accounted for 145 outstanding cases of enforced disappearances.

This includes recommendations in: Concluding Observations issued by UN Treaty Bodies following reviews of China in 2022 (Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)) and 2023 (Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)), as well as in Decision 1 (108) on the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) under its Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure; communications and press releases by UN Special Procedures (Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups), including Opinions by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; press releases by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as well as the OHCHR's assessment of human rights in the XUAR.

These UN bodies are composed of independent, impartial experts, from all geographic regions.

The recommendations are categorised by key topic or community affected. Yet, this repository does not cover all topics, nor does it include all recommendations issued by the above-mentioned UN bodies.

This repository maintains the original language of the recommendation issued by a given UN body, with minor formatting changes.

This repository does not include recommendations to the Governments of Hong Kong and of Macao. Please click here for the repository of recommendations on Hong Kong, and here for the repository of recommendations on Macao.

 

Table of content

• Chinese human rights defenders, lawyers and civil society organisations in mainland China
• Uyghur region
• Tibet
• National security legal framework, judicial independence and due process
• Surveillance, censorship and free expression
• Reprisals, meaningful cooperation with the UN, and unrestricted access to the country for UN experts
• Transnational repression
• LGBTI rights
• Worker's rights
• Women's rights
• Persons with disabilities' rights
• Children's rights
• Business and human rights, including business activities overseas
• Belt and Road Initiative
• Environment and climate change
• North Korean (DPRK) refugees
• Discrimination against Africans and people of African descent

 

Chinese human rights defenders, lawyers and civil society organisations in mainland China

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Concluding Observations on the ninth period report of China, 12 May 2023:

• • Amend its legislation on the registration of NGOs to repeal the requirement for sponsorship and all other disproportionate restrictions
  • Ensure the protection of women human rights defenders from intimidation, harassment and reprisals for their work, including when they have engaged or sought to engage with the Committee, immediately stop any such reprisals and ensure the protection of the women human rights defenders concerned and investigate and prosecute those responsible, including police officers and other State agents
  • Create an enabling environment for women human rights defenders from diverse communities to promote, protect and advocate for women’s human rights without fear of reprisals
  • Create an enabling environment and ensure the systematic and meaningful participation of independent women’s rights organizations, including those holding diverse and differing views, in the formulation and implementation of legislative and policy initiatives affecting women

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of China, 3 March 2023:

• • Refrain from persecuting and prosecuting human rights defenders and lawyers working on human rights issues for broadly defined offences
  • Repeal any legal provisions and policy practices that unduly restrict the activities of NGOs
  • Guarantee an enabling environment for all non- governmental and/or non-profit organizations engaged in the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights
  • Take all necessary legislative and administrative measures to guarantee the full independence and impartiality of the judiciary

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Concluding Observations on the combined second and third periodic reports of China, 1 September 2022:

• • Recognize the role of civil society organizations as human rights defenders, prohibit any reprisals against individuals and organizations promoting the rights of persons with disabilities and take measures to protect the civic space

 

Letters ('communications') from the UN Special Procedures (Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups)

1. 1. 11 September 2024, JAL CHN 12/2024, joined by 5 mandates, letter on the alleged arbitrary detention of human rights defenders Ji Xiaolong and Chen Pinlin. 
   2. 11 June 2024, JAL CHN 10/2024, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the alleged arbitrary and prolonged incommunicado detention, conviction and sentencing of woman human rights defender Xu Qin (link).
   3. 8 April 2024, JAL CHN 6/2024, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the alleged arbitrary detention of woman human rights defender Xu Yan and human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng, and the conditions they are subjected to in detention. 
   4. 2 November 2023, JAL CHN 18/2023, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the trial of human rights defenders Ms. Huang Xueqin and Mr. Wang Jianbing on the charges of “inciting subversion of state power” at the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court.
   5. 21 July 2023, JAL CHN 11/2023, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the arbitrary detention of human rights defender Li Yuhan; government response on 25 September 2023 (link).
   6. 12 May 2023, JAL CHN 5/2023, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the sentencing of human rights defenders and lawyers Xu Zhiyong, Ding Jiaxi and Qin Yongpei; government response on 21 July 2023 (link).
   7. 1 December 2022, JAL CHN 10/2022, joined by 4 mandates, letter on denial of denial of legal
      assistance, torture and ill-treatment, incommunicado detention and enforced
      disappearance of Huang Xueqin, Wang Jianbing, He Fangmei, Yang Maodong (pen-name Guo Feixiong) and Tang Jitian; government response on 10 January 2021 (link).
   8. 23 September 2022, JAL CHN 8/2022, joined by 2 mandates, letter on the detention and prosecution of human rights defender and lawyer Chang Weiping; government response on 28 November 2022 (link).
   9. 3 February 2022, JAL CHN 2/2022, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the arrest and enforced disappearance of human rights defenders Wang Jianbing, Yang Maodong (pen-name Guo Feixiong), and Tang Jitian; government response on 1 April 2022 (link).
   10. 15 November 2021, JUA CHN 12/2021, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the life-threatening health condition of Chinese journalist and woman human rights defender Zhang Zhan; without a government response.
   11. 28 April 2021, JAL CHN 4/2021, joined by 8 mandates, letter on the arbitrary detention of seventeen human rights defenders for the alleged commission of crimes carrying prison sentences of 10 years or more (Huang Qi, Guo Hongwei, Chen Xi, Qin Yongmin, Xia Lin, Liu Xiaobo, Li Wangyang, Xu Zhiyong, Chang Weiping, Qin Yongpei, Ding Jiaxi, Gao Zhisheng, Li Qiaochu, Ilham Tohti, Zhang Haitao, Huang Yunmin, Zhao Haitong); government response on 26 June 2021 (link).
   12. 4 December 2020, JAL CHN 20/2020, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the detention, arrest and charging, and the enforced disappearance under 'Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location' (RSDL) of human rights defender Qin Yongpei and lawyer Chang Weiping, respectively; government response on 28 December 2020 (link).
   13. 13 August 2020, JAL CHN 16/2020, joined by 7 mandates, letter on the trial and sentencing, behind closed doors, of Yu Wensheng; government response on 23 October 2020 (link).
   14. 7 May 2020, JAL CHN 8/2020, joined by 8 mandates, letter on the penalties faced by
       individuals during the COVID-19 outbreak, in particular the arbitrary detention of
       Guo Quan and the enforced disappearance of Xu Zhiyong; government response on 06 July 2020 (link).
   15. 12 March 2020, JUA CHN 5/2020, joined by 5 mandates, letter on the arbitrary detention and risk of torture or ill-treatment of Shao Zhongguo; government response on 02 April 2020 (link).
   16. 9 March 2020, JUA CHN 6/2020, joined by 5 mandates, letter on the arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance under 'Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location' (RSDL) of three human rights defenders, Ding Jiaxi, Zhang Zhongshun and Dai Zhenya; government response on 02 April 2020 (link).
   17. 11 December 2019, JAL CHN 22/2019, joined by 6 mandates, letter on arbitrary detention, short-term disappearance and charging of health rights defenders Cheng Yuan, Liu Dazhi and Wu Gejianxiong, from the organisation Changsha Funeng; government response on 23 December 2019 (link).
   18. 27 August 2019, JUA CHN 17/2019, joined by 7 mandates, letter on the detention and sentencing of Huang Qi; without a government response.
   19. 20 August 2019, JAL CHN 15/2019, joined by 7 mandates, letter on the police intimidation, harassment and subsequent detention of pastor Wang Yi and Jiang Rong, founders of the Early Rain Covenant Church; without a government response.
   20. 19 August 2019, JUA CHN 16/2019, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of woman human rights defender Chen Jianfang; government response on 10 October 2019 (link).
   21. 19 July 2019, JUA CHN 14/2019, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and charging of labour rights defenders Ke Chengbing, Wei Zhili and Yang Zhengjun; government response on 20 September 2019 (link).
   22. 20 May 2019, JUA CHN 9/2019, joined by 6 mandates, letter on continued violations against Jiang Tianyong; government response on 27 June 2019 (link).
   23. 1 May 2019, JAL CHN 3/2019, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the arrest, detention and charges of five labour rights defenders at the Jasic Technology factory in Shenzhen; government response on 21 May 2019 (link).
   24. 23 April 2019, JUA CHN 6/2019, joined by 3 mandates, letter on reprisals against human rights defender Liu Ximei; government response on 06 May 2019 (link).
   25. 30 November 2018, JUA CHN 22/2018, joined by 3 mandates, letter on the detention of Taiwanese human rights defender Li Ming-Che; government response on 22 December 2018 (link).
   26. 22 August 2018, JOL CHN 15/2018, joined by 10 mandates, letter on the use of Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location (RSDL) as a form of secret detention, as amended in the 2012 Criminal Procedure Law Article 73; government response on 23 November 2018 (link).
   27. 14 June 2018, JUA CHN 12/2018, joined by 3 mandates, letter on the deteriorating physical and mental health of Liu Xia, a poet, human rights defender and wife of the deceased Nobel Peace Prize winner, Liu Xiaobo; without a government response.
   28. 24 April 2018, JAL CHN 8/2018, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the increasing trend of land grabbing and forced evictions in Beijing; without a government response.
   29. 6 April 2018, JAL CHN 7/2018, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the arrest, investigation and arbitrary detention of Chen Wuquan and Sui Muqing; government response on 23 May (link).
   30. 6 March 2018, JUA CHN 5/2018, joined by 3 mandates, letter on the arrest, incommunicado detention and charges against human rights defender Yu Wensheng; government response on 15 March (link).
   31. 8 February 2018, JAL CHN 3/2018, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the torture and ill-treamtent of Wu Gan (better known as Tufu – “The Butcher”); government response on 14 April (link).
   32. 24 January 2018, JAL CHN 2/2018, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the arrest, residential surveillance and raid on the house of Zhen Jianghua; government response on 06 March (link)

 

Opinions of Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) 

1. 28 September 2022, Opinion 41/2022 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Qin Yongpei, detained on 31/10/2019. The WGAD determined the detention of Qin Yongpei to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Quash the proceedings against Qin, release him immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law. 
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Qin and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights.   
2.  11 May 2022, Opinion 9/2022 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Wang Jianbing, detained on 19/09/2021. The WGAD determined the detention of Wang Jianbing to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III. The WGAD urged China to:  
   • Accept a country visit by the WGAD 
   • Release Wang immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.  
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Wang and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights.   
   • Accede to the ICCPR 
3.  16 February 2022, Opinion 54/2021 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Zhang Baocheng, detained on 27/05/2019. The WGAD determined the detention of Zhang Baocheng to be arbitrary under categories I, II and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Accept a country visit by the WGAD. 
   • Release Zhang immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law. 
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Zhang and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights. 
   •  Accede to the ICCPR. 
4. 2 February 2022, Opinion 76/2021 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Zhang Shaojie, detained on 17/11/2013. The WGAD determined the detention of Zhang Shaojie to be arbitrary under categories I, II and III. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Accept a country visit by the WGAD 
   • Release Zhang immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law. 
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Zhang and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights. 
   • Accede to the ICCPR 
5.  2 February 2022, Opinion 66/2021 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Zhang Haitao, detained on 26/06/2015. The WGAD determined the detention of Zhang Haitao to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   
   • Accept a country visit by the WGAD 
   • Release Zhang immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law. 
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Zhang and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights.   
   • Accede to the ICCPR.   
6. 12 November 2021, Opinion 30/2021 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Ding Jiaxi, Zhang Zhongshun and Dai Zhenya, detained on 26/12/2019 The WGAD determined the detention of Ding Jiaxi, Zhang Zhongshun and Dai Zhenya to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Accede to the ICCPR. 
   • Release Ding immediately, to unconditionally release Zhang and Dai, and to accord Ding, Zhang and Dai an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law. 
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary detention of Ding, Zhang and Dai and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights. 
7. 26 October 2021, Opinion 25/2021 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Zhang Zhan, Chen Mei and Cai Wei, detained on 14-15/05/2020 (Zhang Zhan) and 19/04/2020 (Chen Mei and Cai Wei). The WGAD determined the detention of Zhang Zhan, Chen Mei and Cai Wei to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Accept a country visit from the WGAD 
   • Accede to the ICCPR 
   • Release Zhang, Chen and Cai immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law. 
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary detention of Zhang, Chen and Cai and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights. 
8. 2 September 2020, Opinion 32/2020 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning He Fangmei, detained on 20/03/2020. The WGAD determined the detention of He Fangmei to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III, and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Accept a country visit by the WGAD 
   • Accord He an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law. 
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of He and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of her rights 
   • Ratify or accede to the ICCPR and its Optional Protocols. 
9. 5 June 2020, Opinion 11/2020 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Cheng Yuan, Liu Dazhi and Wu Gejianxiong detained on 22/06/2019. The WGAD determined the detention of Cheng Yuan, Liu Dazhi and Wu Gejianxiong to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Accept a country visit by the WGAD 
   • Release Cheng, Liu and Wu immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law. 
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Cheng, Liu and Wu and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights. 
   • Accede to the ICCPR. 
10. 14 Febrero 2020, Opinion 76/2019 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Chen Shuqing and Lü Gengsong, detained on 26/09/2014. The WGAD determined the detention of Chen Shuqing and Lü Gengsong to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
    • Respect, protect and fulfil the right to liberty. Any national law allowing deprivation of liberty should be made and implemented in conformity with relevant international standards.  
    • Accept a country visit by the WGAD 
    • Release Chen and Lü immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law. 
    • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Chen and Lü and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights. 
    • Ratify or accede to the ICCPR and its Optional Protocols. 
11. 1 October 2019, Opinion 36/2019 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Wang Yi and Jiang Rong, detained on 09/12/2018. The WGAD determined the detention of Wang Yi and Jiang Rong to be arbitrary under categories I, II and III. The WGAD urged China to: 
    • Release Wang immediately, to release Jiang unconditionally, and to accord Wang and Jiang an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations. 
    • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Wang and Jiang and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights. 
    • Ratify and accede to the ICCPR and its Optional Protocols. 
12. 1 May 2019, Opinion 20/2019 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Zhen Jianghua and Qin Yongmin, detained on 2/09/2017 (Zhen Jianghua), and 15/01/2015 (Qin Yongmin). The WGAD determined the detention of Zhen Jianghua and Qin Yongmin to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III, and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
    • Remedy the situation of Zhen and Qin without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international norms. 
    • Release Zhen and Qin immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law. 
    • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Zhen and Qin and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights. 
13. 20-24 August 2018, Opinion 62/2018 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Wang Quanzhang, Jiang Tianyong and Li Yuhan, detained on 3/08/2015 (Wang Quanzhang), 21/11/2016 (Jiang Tianyong), and 9/10/2017. The WGAD determined the detention of Wang Quanzhang, Jiang Tianyong and Li Yuhanto be arbitrary under categories I, II and III. The WGAD urged China to: 
    • Remedy the situation of Wang, Jiang and Li without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international norms. 
    • Release Wang, Jiang and Li immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law 
    • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Wang, Jiang and Li, and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights 
14. 17-26 April 2018, Opinion 22/2018 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Liu Feiyue and Huang Qi, detained on 16/12/2016 (Huang Qi) and on 23/12/2016 (Liu Feiyue). The WGAD determined the detention of Liu Feiyue and Huang Qi to be arbitrary under categories II and III. The WGAD urged China to: 
    • Release Huang and Liu immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparation, in accordance with international law.  
    • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Huang and Liu and appropriate measures against those responsible for violations of their rights. 

 

•  

Press releases from Special Procedures, including recommendations to the Chinese government

1. 1. 14 March 2024: China: UN experts renew calls for accountability for Cao Shunli’s death
      1. fully and fairly investigate the circumstances that led to Cao Shunli’s death and hold those responsible to account
      2. freely allow any of its citizens to engage safely with the UN, as provided for in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders
   2. 27 October 2023: Lao PDR: Stop deporting human rights defenders [back to China], says UN expert, urging China to:
      
      1. Release Lu Siwei immediately and, in the meantime, ensure that he has access to adequate medical care and basic services and is free to appoint and regularly meet with a legal counsel of his own choosing
   3. 18 October 2023: China: UN expert urges release of human rights defender Guo Feixiong, urging China to:
      
      1. Immediately and unconditionally release Guo Feixiong, as 10 urgent letters have been sent to the authorities about his situation since 2006
   4. 11 August 2023: Lao must immediately release Chinese lawyer Lu Siwei and prevent his imminent deportation: UN experts
   5. 22 November 2021: China: Journalist jailed for COVID reporting seriously ill, must be released – UN experts, urging China to:
      
      1. Immediately grant Zhang Zhan unconditional release and ensure she receives the necessary medical treatment as soon as possible
   6. 28 June 2021: China: Human rights defenders given long jail terms, tortured – UN expert, urging China to:
      
      1. Immediately release 13 human rights defenders who have been sentenced on spurious charges to 10 years or more in jail for peacefully defending the rights of other, including Qin Yongmin, Ilham Tohti, Chen Xi, Yu Wensheng, Huang Qi, Li Qiaochu, as torture or ill-treatment remains endemic in Chinese custody
      2. Ensure that they can continue their meaningful and necessary human rights work without fear of retribution of any kind, including against their relatives
   7. 16 December 2020: China: Shock at continued crackdown on human rights defenders and lawyers – UN expert, urging China to:
      
      1. Release at once Chang Weiping and all other detained and disappeared human rights defenders.
   8. 23 March 2020: China: UN experts gravely concerned by enforced disappearance of three human rights defenders (Ding Jiaxi, Zhang Zhongshun and Dai Zhenya)
   9. 24 September 2019: China: Harassment of human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong must stop, say UN experts, urging China to:
      
      1. Immediately end harassment and surveillance of prominent human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong, and guarantee his freedom of movement and access to adequate medical care
   10. 20 December 2018: China: UN human rights experts gravely concerned about Huang Qi’s health, urging China to:
       
       1. Immediately release Huang Qi and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law
   11. 04 July 2018: China: UN experts worried about Liu Xia’s health
       
   12. 23 March 2018: China: UN experts concerned about health of jailed rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong, urging China to:
       
       1. Give urgent medical attention to Jiang Tianyong and provide a full report on his health status to his family
       2. Provide a copy of his verdict to his family or his lawyer as soon as possible
       3. Provide access to their families, lawyers of their own choosing and adequate health care, to those still remaining in detention from the July 2015 unprecedented crackdown on nearly 250 lawyers and defenders

 

Press releases from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

1. 1. 3 June 2020: Asia: Bachelet alarmed by clampdown on freedom of expression during COVID-19 (including China)
   2. 10 July 2018: UN Human Rights Chief welcomes release of Liu Xia, Zeid welcomes Liu Xia’s release

 

 

Uyghur region

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

See all recommendations from the OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), 31 August 2022. Summarised by ISHR in this explainer. Recommendations include to:

• • Take prompt steps to release all individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in XUAR, whether in VETCs [so-called 'Vocational Education and Training Centres], prisons or other detention facilities
  • Urgently clarifiy the whereabouts of individuals whose families have been seeking information about their loved ones in XUAR, including by providing details of their exact locations and establishing safe channels of communication and travel enabling families
    to reunite
  • Undertake a full review of the legal framework governing national security, counter-terrorism and minority rights in XUAR to ensure their compliance with binding international human rights law, and urgently repeal all discriminatory laws, policies and practices against Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities in XUAR, in particular those that have led to the serious human rights violations as detailed in this assessment
  • Promptly investigate allegations of human rights violations in VETCs and other detention facilities, including allegations of torture, sexual violence, ill-treatment, forced medical treatment, as well as forced labour and reports of deaths in custody
  • Clarifiy the reports of destruction of mosques, shrines and cemeteries by providing data and information and suspend all such activities in the meantime
  • Ceases immediately all intimidation and reprisals against Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities abroad in connection with their advocacy, and their family members in XUAR; and ensure that all citizens including of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities can hold a valid passport and travel to and from China without fear of reprisals
  • Invites as a matter of priority the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Minorities, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, the Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights and the Working Group on Business and Human Rights to conduct unrestricted country visits to China, including to the XUAR

 

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Decision 1 (108) under its Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure, 24 November 2022:

• • Immediately investigate all allegations of human rights violations in the XUAR, including those of torture, ill-treatment, sexual violence, forced labour, enforced disappearances and deaths in custody
  • Immediately release all individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in the XUAR, whether in VETCs or other detention facilities, and provide relatives of those detained or disappeared with detailed information about their status and well-being
  • Undertake a full review of its legal framework governing national security, counter terrorism and minority rights in the XUAR to ensure their full compliance with the State party’s obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
  • Immediately cease all intimidation and reprisals against Uyghur and other ethnic Muslim communities, the diaspora and those who speak out in their defence, both domestically and abroad
  • Ensure that victims of human rights violations, including Uyghurs and other ethnic Muslim communities, are provided with adequate and effective remedies and reparation
  • Effectively implement the Concluding Observations of the CERD, the CAT (Committee Against Torture), as well as the recommendations included in the OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in the XUAR (para. 151)

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Concluding Obserations on the ninth period report of China, 12 May 2023:

• • Ensure that all women, including refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant women have access to civil registration procedures and basic services, that passports are not confiscated on the basis of ethnic minority status and that national security legislation is not arbitrarily used to do so
  • Ensure that girls and women belonging to the ethnic minorities have access to instruction in their mother tongues, such as Kazakh, Tibetan and Uyghur, and reverse the closure of schools providing instruction in minority languages
  • Prohibit coercive employment measures, including forced labour of Uyghur women, immediately discontinue any such measures, release all women subject to forced labour, and prosecute and punish perpetrators, including State officials, of gender-based violence, such as sexual violence and harassment, against women in employment, notably in vocational training and education centres for Uyghur women
  • Take immediate steps to end, prevent and criminalize the use of coercive measures, such as forced abortions, forced sterilizations, other forms of gender-based sexual violence and other cruel, inhuman or degrading family planning practices that are allegedly inflicted on women in the XUAR and in predominantly Uyghur-populated areas, and ensure that any cases of such practices are effectively investigated without delay and that those responsible are prosecuted and adequately punished and that victims receive adequate compensation
  • Respect, preserve and promote the cultural identity of women belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, including Tibetan and Uyghur women
  • Ensure the right of all women, including those belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, such as Uyghur women, freely to choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent
  • Ensure that all cases of forced interethnic marriages of Uyghur women are effectively investigated and that those responsible, including public officials, are prosecuted and adequately punished; and raise the awareness of the general public and provide mandatory training to law enforcement officers and other public officials about the criminal nature of forced marriages
  • eliminate intersecting forms of discrimination against women belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, such as Tibetan and Uyghur women, and ensure that they have adequate access to education, employment and health care and are proportionately represented in decision-making positions in political and public life

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of China, 3 March 2023:

• • Immediately bring to an end the violations of human rights in the XUAR
  • Effectively implement the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Committee against Torture, as well as the recommendations included in paragraph 151 of the OHCHR assessment of human rights concerns in the XUAR
  • Immediately dismantle all systems of forced labour in place, both private and public, including at the local level, and release all individuals subject to forced labour
  • Effectively end these forms of arbitrary detention, while implementing both the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), and the ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), and to give United Nations independent human rights experts unhindered access to all vocational education and training centres
  • Ensure that labour inspection mechanisms and independent audit companies have sufficient legal grounds and adequate resources to investigate allegations of violations of the labour law and to take effective action against those employers and enterprises found to be in breach of the law, including in the Tibet Autonomous Region and in the XUAR
  • Ensure that surveillance, both online and offline, complies with strict tests of legality, necessity and proportionality, including for matters of national security, and does not infringe on the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals, and immediately cease imposed co-habitation
  • End, prevent and criminalize effectively the use of coercive measures, such as forced abortions, sexual violence, forced sterilizations and torture, in the implementation of family planning policies
  • Investigate effectively, without further delay, all reported cases of forced abortion and forced sterilization and to hold accountable those responsible for such acts, and to take all necessary measures to ensure that victims receive adequate compensation
  • Ensure the full and unrestricted enjoyment by peoples and minorities of their right to enjoy fully their own cultural identity and take part in cultural life
  • Ensure that Mandarin is not the only language of instruction allowed for ethnic minorities and peoples
  • Take adequate measures to protect cultural diversity and the cultural practices and heritage of religious minorities, including the religious practices of Tibetans, Uighurs, Kazakhs, Hui and Mongols, including by protecting and restoring religious sites

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Concluding Observations on the combined second and third periodic reports of China, 1 September 2022:

• • Take prompt action to release Uyghur and other Muslim minority persons with disabilities deprived of their liberty in vocational education and training centres, and immediately ensure that all disability-related needs of persons with disabilities still in detention are met
  • Commit to an independent assessment of the human rights situation of persons with disabilities in China, especially in the XUAR and the Tibet Autonomous Region, including by issuing invitations to special procedures of the Human Rights Council and engaging with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

 

Letters ('communications') from the UN Special Procedures (Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups)

In letter JAL CHN 12/2022 sent on 19 December 2022, 15 mandates follow up on eight Special Procedures communications to the Chinese Government since 2017 about alleged widespread and grave violations of the rights of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities; with government response on 7 March 2023 (link). The letter outlines benchmarks to facilitate substantive substantive reform in the XUAR in line with the Government's international law obligations:

• • • Repeal the XUAR De-extremification Regulation due to its impermissible aim and unlawful impingement on the rights to freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression and opinion, of peaceful assembly and of association, as well as of cultural rights
    • Amend the Counter-Terrorism Law and implementing regulations by revising the definition of “terrorism” in line with the model definition developed by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism
    • Ensure all surveillance programmes and activities are approved for use against a specific person only—as authorized by a competent, independent, and impartial judicial body—and subject to appropriate, express limitations on the time, manner, place and scope of the surveillance permitted in accordance with international human rights law
    • Immediately close any mass arbitrary detention facilities in the XUAR and take effective measures to prevent and put immediate end to the practice of enforced disappearances, including incommunicado detentions
    • Invite relevant Special Procedures mandates to conduct country visits, and grant them full and unimpeded access to current and former places of alleged mass arbitrary detention, as well as the capacity to confidentially interview persons who may have been detained and others with relevant information, without reprisals, consistent with the Terms of Reference for Special Procedures mandate holders
    • Put an immediate end to forced indoctrination and assimilation through so-called education or other programmes; mandate a review
      of all existing education and training programmes, classes, or activities conducted in the XUAR and revise existing State curricula to ensure their compatibility with international standards, particularly with respect to the rights to freedom of opinion, belief, expression and education, and cultural rights, including the right to choose and express one’s own identity
    • Put an immediate end to any policy or directives that provide for forced sterilization and birth control in the XUAR or otherwise discriminate against women and contravene fundamental reproductive health rights; and amend detention provisions as well as administrative and judicial safeguards to ensure comprehensive reporting and effective investigation of allegations of sexual and gender-based violence
    • Put an immediate end to any state policy and directive that authorizes the involuntary transfer of Uyghur and other minorities from detention facilities to work in factories in the XUAR or across the country; and grant companies with supply chains in China, including in the XUAR, free and unhindered access to factories and workers to conduct human rights due diligence in accordance with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and investigate any alleged abusive or forced labour practices in factories in China
    • Amend China’s Counter-Terrorism Law, and any other applicable laws and regulations in the XUAR context in line with the fair trial guarantees and due process safeguards required under international human rights law
    • Fully and prompty implement the recommendations contained in paragraphs 39 and 42 of the Concluding Observations adopted in 2018 by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)

Additional communications include:

1. 1. 7 June 2024, JAL CHN 9/2024, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the imprisonment of, and near total absence of information about, Dr Gulshan Abbas, in retaliation for the human rights activism of her sister in the USA. (link) 
   2. 20 September 2023, JAL CHN 13/2023, joined by 3 mandates, letter on the widespread separation of children from their parents affecting the Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region of China; without a government response.
      
   3. 10 June 2021, JAL CHN 5/2021, joined by 9 mandates, letter on the alleged forced organ harvesting targeting ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities such as Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, Tibetans, Muslims and Christians in detention; government response on 09 August 2021 (link).
   4. 10 February 2021, JAL CHN 21/2020, joined by 10 mandates, letter on arbitrary detention and ill-treatment, including gender-based violence, against Gulbakhar Jalilova, a Kazakh national and Uyghur businesswoman; government responses on 23 May 2021 (link).
   5. 7 July 2020, JAL CHN 14/2020, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the alleged use of surveillance to monitor, track, and ultimately detain persons who belong to Muslim minorities within China; government response on 19 November 2020 (link).
   6. 1 November 2019, JOL CHN 18/2019, joined by 12 mandates, letter on the effect and application of the Counter-Terrorism Law of the PRC promulgated on 27 December 2015 effective as of 1 January 2016 and its Regional Implementing Measures, the 2016 Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) Implementing Measures of the Counter-Terrorism Law of the PRC; government response on 16 December 2019 (link).
   7. 2 October 2019, JUA CHN 21/2019, joined by 3 mandates, letter on the death sentence of Tashpolat Tiyip; government response on 9 December 2019 (link).
   8. 12 November 2018, JOL CHN 21/2018, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the revision of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) Regulation on De-extremification; without a government response.
   9. 11 July 2018, JAL CHN 13/2018, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the alleged reprisals Dolkun Isa, and, the Society for Threatened Peoples, of which he is a member; government response on 31 July 2018 (link).
   10. 12 January 2018, JOL CHN 1/2018, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the directive on bilingual education issued on 28 June 2017 by Hotan’s Education Department; government response on 15 March 2018 (link).

 

Opinions of Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD)  

1. 9 May 2024, Opinion 2/2024 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Alavedi Buvacir, Hudavedi Bumeyrem, Abudukelimu Alimu, Abuduli Aibibu and Bahaguli Aibibu detained in 2019 (Alavedi Buvacir and Hudavedi Bumeyre); on 28 August 2017 (Abudukelimu Alimu) and in October 2017 (Abuduli Aibibu and Bahaguli Aibibu). The WGAD determined the detention of Alavedi Buvacir, Hudavedi Bumeyrem, Abudukelimu Alimu, Abuduli Aibibu and Bahaguli Aibibu to be arbitrary under categories I, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Release Ms. Buvacir, Ms. Bumeyrem, Mr. Alimu, Mr. Aibibu and Ms. Aibibu immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law 
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding their arbitrary deprivation of liberty and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their right
2. 8 May 2024, Opinion 4/2024 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Abdülcabbar Celil Karluk, Suliya Tuerxun, Ailijiang Mamuti and Yasin Abdurrahman detained around May 2017 (Abdülcabbar Celil Karluk); in May 2018 (Suliya Tuerxun); in May 2017 (Ailijiang Mamuti) and in July 2017 (Yasin Abdurrahman). The WGAD determined the detention of Abdülcabbar Celil Karluk, Suliya Tuerxun, Ailijiang Mamuti and Yasin Abdurrahman to be arbitrary under categories I, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Release Ms. Tuerxun, Mr. Mamuti and Mr. Abdurrahman immediately and to accord them and Mr. Karluk an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law 
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding their arbitrary deprivation of liberty and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights 
3. 8 December 2023, Opinion 77/2023 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Halemaimaiti Yiliyasi, Abudureheman Kuerwanjiang, Mevlude Hilal and Paliden Yasheng detained on 01/03/2017 (Halemaimaiti Yiliyasi); 00/03/2017 (Abudureheman Kuerwanjiang); 12/07/2019 (Mevlude Hilal), and 00/04/2017 (Paliden Yasheng). The WGAD determined the detention of Halemaimaiti Yiliyasi, Abudureheman Kuerwanjiang, Mevlude Hilal and Paliden Yasheng to be arbitrary under categories I, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Accept a country visit by the WGAD 
   • Release Yiliyasi, Kuerwanjiang, Hilal and Yasheng immediately, quash their convictions and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.  
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Yiliyasi, Kuerwanjiang, Hilal and Yasheng and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights 
4. 27 September 2023, Opinion 38/2023 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Maimaiti Abulaiti detained on 20/01/2018. The WGAD determined the detention of Maimaiti Abulaiti to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Accept a country visit by the WGAD 
   • Release Abulaiti immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.  
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Abulaiti and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights.    
5. 1 May 2023, Opinion 6/2023 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Naghmat Hamit, Tajinisa Yimin and Dilixiati Wulibaiyi, detained in 2017 (Naghmat Hamit); 2021 (Tajinisa Yimin), and on 7/03/2018 (Dilixiati Wulibaiyi). The WGAD determined the detention of Naghmat Hamit, Tajinisa Yimin and Dilixiati Wulibaiyi to be arbitrary under categories I, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Accept a country visit by the WGAD 
   • Release Hamit, Yimin and Wulibaiyi immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.  
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Hamit, Yimin and Wulibaiyi and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights. 
6. 20 March 2023, Opinion 88/2022 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Qurban Mamut, Ekpar Asat and Gulshan Abbas, detained possibly in November, December or possibly as early as March or April 2017 (Qurban Mamut; 7/04/2016 (Ekpar Asat), and 10/09/2018 (Gulshan Abbas). The WGAD determined the detention of Qurban Mamut, Ekpar Asat and Gulshan Abbas to be arbitrary under categories I, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Accept a country visit by the WGAD 
   • Release Mamut, Asat and Abbas immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law 
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mamut, Asat and Abbas and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights. 
   • Accede to the ICCPR. 
7. 29 September 2022, Opinion 64/2022 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Yalqun Rozi, detained on 6/10/2016. The WGAD determined the detention of Yalqun Rozi to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Adhere to the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering (the Méndez Principles). 
   • Accept a country visit by the WGAD 
   • Release Rozi immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.  
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Rozi and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights 
8. 23 May 2022, Opinion 6/2022 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Abdurashid Tohti, Tajigul Qadir, Ametjan Abdurashid and Mohamed Ali Abdurashid, detained on 06/03/2016 (Ametjan Abdurashid), and 00/06/2017 (Abdurashid Tohti, Tajigul Qadir, and Mohamed Ali Abdurashid). The WGAD determined the detention of Abdurashid Tohti, Tajigul Qadir, Ametjan Abdurashid and Mohamed Ali Abdurashid to be arbitrary under categories I, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Release Tohti, Qadir, Ametjan Abdurashid and Mohamed Abdurashid immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law. 
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Tohti, Qadir, Ametjan Abdurashid and Mohamed Abdurashid and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights 

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Press releases from Special Procedures, including recommendations to the Chinese government

1. 1. 19 June 2024: China: Authorities must provide information on imprisoned Uyghur doctor 
      • provide information on the status of imprisoned Uyghur doctor Gulshan Abbas, including where she is being imprisoned, the evidence used to convict her, and her health condition 
   2. 26 September 2023: China: Xinjiang’s forced separations and language policies for Uyghur children carry risk of forced assimilation, say UN experts
   3. 15 September 2022: UN expert says contemporary forms of slavery affecting minority communities, urges action to end discrimination, including against Uyghur and other minorities in China exposed to forced labour
   4. 7 September 2022: Xinjiang report: China must address grave human rights violations and the world must not turn a blind eye, say UN experts
   5. 1 April 2022: Saudi Arabia: UN experts say Uyghurs must not be extradited to China, urge proper risk assessment
   6. 15 March 2022: UN expert calls on States to ensure accountability, transparency and access to sites of secret detention, urging China to:
      
      1. Immediate close the mass detention facilities in Xinjiang
   7. 16 December 2021: Morocco: UN experts say extradition of Uyghur asylum seeker to China violates principle of non-refoulement
   8. 29 March 2021: China: UN experts deeply concerned by alleged detention, forced labour of Uyghurs, urging China to:
      
      1. Immediately cease alleged detention and forced labour of Muslim Uyghurs in China
      2. Create an environment conducive for all businesses operating in China to conduct human rights due diligence in line with international standards
      3. Grant unhindered access to the country to conduct fact-finding missions 
      4. The UN experts further urged 150 global and domestic companies to:
         1. Cclosely scrutinize their supply chains
         2. Conduct meaningful human rights due diligence in line with the UN Guiding Principles to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for human rights abuses caused, contributed to or directly linked to their operations, products or services in Xinjiang and in other Chinese provinces
   9. 26 December 2019: China urged to disclose location of Uyghur academic Tashpolat Tiyip, urging China to
      
      1. Make public information about his current place of detention, and allow his family to visit him
      2. Independntly review his trial, taking into account his right to fair trial and due process of law

 

 

Tibet

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Concluding Obserations on the ninth period report of China, 12 May 2023:

• • Abolish the coerced residential (boarding) school system imposed on Tibetan girls and authorize the establishment of and subsidize private Tibetan schools
  • Ensure that girls and women belonging to the ethnic minorities have access to instruction in their mother tongues, such as Kazakh, Tibetan and Uyghur, and reverse the closure of schools providing instruction in minority languages
  • Immediately halt non-voluntary “labour transfer” and “vocational training” programmes in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, and carry out meaningful consultations with the affected women in order to explore alternative training options, including those that make full use of their unique skills and potential
  • Respect, preserve and promote the cultural identity of women belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, including Tibetan and Uyghur women
  • Eliminate intersecting forms of discrimination against women belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, such as Tibetan and Uyghur women, and ensure that they have adequate access to education, employment and health care and are proportionately represented in decision-making positions in political and public life
  • Ensure that all women, including refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant women have access to civil registration procedures and basic services, that passports are not confiscated on the basis of ethnic minority status and that national security legislation is not arbitrarily used to do so

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of China, 3 March 2023:

• • Immediately halt non-voluntary resettlement of nomadic herders, including Tibetan herders, from their traditional lands and non-voluntary relocation or rehousing programmes for other rural residents, such as small-scale farmers; carry out meaningful consultations with the affected communities in order to examine and evaluate all available alternative options, and offer full, adequate and timely compensation for expropriations that have already been carried out
  • Ensure that labour inspection mechanisms and independent audit companies have sufficient legal grounds and adequate resources to investigate allegations of violations of the labour law and to take effective action against those employers and enterprises found to be in breach of the law, including in the Tibet Autonomous Region and in the XUAR
  • Abolish immediately the coerced residential (boarding) school system imposed on Tibetan children and allow private Tibetan schools to be established
  • Ensure that Mandarin is not the only language of instruction allowed for ethnic minorities and peoples
  • Ensure the full and unrestricted enjoyment by peoples and minorities of their right to enjoy fully their own cultural identity and take part in cultural life, to ensure the use and practice of their language and culture
  • Protect cultural diversity and the cultural practices and heritage of religious minorities, including the religious practices of Tibetans, Uighurs, Kazakhs, Hui and Mongols, including by protecting and restoring religious sites

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Concluding Observations on the combined second and third periodic reports of China, 1 September 2022:

• • Commit to an independent assessment of the human rights situation of persons with disabilities in China, especially in the XUAR and the Tibet Autonomous Region, including by issuing invitations to special procedures of the Human Rights Council and engaging with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

 

Letters ('communications') from the UN Special Procedures (Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups)

1. 1. 8 July 2024, JAL CHN 8/2024, joined by 13 mandates, letter on the widespread crackdown on 15.100 Tibetans peacefully opposing the construction of the Kamtok dam. No recommendations;  government response on 12 September 2024 (link). Also sent to the company, Huadian Jinsha River Upstream Hydropower Development Co. Ltd, in OTH 107/2024. No recommendations.
   2. 28 July 2023, JAL CHN 14/2023, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the ongoing imprisonment of nine Tibetan human rights defenders sentenced to up to 11 years in prison on account of their environmental protection work, including follow-up on the case of A-Nya Sengdra; without a government response.
   3. 26 June 2023, JAL CHN 8/2023, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the arrest and prolonged detention of Buddhist monks Rachung Gendun and Sonam Gyatso; government response on 31 August 2023 (link).
   4. 6 February 2023, JAL CHN 14/2022, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the extensive labor transfer program in the Tibetan Autonomous Region; government response on 4 April 2023 (link).
   5. 11 November 2022, JAL CHN 6/2022, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the policy of acculturation and assimilation of the Tibetan culture into the dominant Han-Chinese majority; government responses on 29 January 2023 and 1 March 2023 (links 1 and 2).
   6. 17 February 2022, JAL CHN 14/2021, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the arrest, detention and enforced disappearance of Tibetan writer Lobsang Lhundup (pen name of Dhi Lhaden), musician Lhundrup Drakpa, and teacher Rinchen Kyi; government response on 14 April 2022 (link).
   7. 16 July 2021, JAL CHN 7/2021, joined by 4 mandates, letter on arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of Buddhist monks Go Sherab Gyatso and Rinchen Tsultrim; government response on 27 August 2021 (link).
   8. 10 June 2021, JAL CHN 5/2021, joined by 9 mandates, letter on the alleged forced organ harvesting targeting ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities such as Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, Tibetans, Muslims and Christians in detention; government response on 09 August 2021 (link).
   9. 2 June 2020, JAL CHN 12/2020, joined by 5 mandates, letter on the continued enforced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama Gedhun Cheokyi Nyima and on the regulation of reincarnation of Tibetan living Buddhas against the religious traditions and practices of the Tibetan Buddhist minority; government response on 08 July 2020 (link).
   10. 12 May 2020, JUA CHN 11/2020, joined by 5 mandates, letter on the arbitrary arrest and detention of Tibetan human rights defenders A-Nya Sengdra; without a government response.
   11. 6 May 2019, JAL CHN 5/2019, joined by 5 mandates, letter on the prolonged detention and sentencing of nine Tibetans human rights defenders from Ngawa (Aba) for their participation in celebrations for the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday in 2015; government response on 07 June 2019 (link).
   12. 28 August 2018, JAL CHN 17/2018, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the excessive use of police force against Tibetan environmental human rights defenders; government response on 23 November 2018 (link).
   13. 6 August 2018, JOL CHN 14/2018, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the policies and legislation of a two-track passport system for Tibetans; government response on 26 October 2018 (link).
   14. 27 July 2018, JAL CHN 16/2018, joined by 2 mandates, letter on the restriction to access the Hoh Xil nature reserve; government response on 14 September 2018 (link).
   15. 16 February 2018, JUA CHN 4/2018, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the prolonged pre-trial detention and trial of linguistic rights activist Tashi Wangchuk; without a government response.

 

Press releases from Special Procedures, including recommendations to the Chinese government

1. 1. 10 August 2023: China: UN experts seek clarification about nine imprisoned Tibetan human rights defenders, urging China to:
      
      1. Provide information about nine Tibetan environmental human rights defenders serving prison sentences of up to 11 years, including details on why and where they are being held and their health conditions
      2. Provide them with adequate medical care and permit their families access to visit them
      3. Refrain from persecuting environmental human rights defenders and release all nine immediately
   2. 27 April 2023: China: “Vocational training” programmes threaten Tibetan identity, carry risk of forced labour, say UN experts, urging China to:
      
      1. Dismantle “vocational training” programmes designed to promote a non-plural, mono-racial and mono-ethnic nation, in violation of the prohibition of racial discrimination under international human rights law
      2. Clarify the measures in place for Tibetans to opt out of vocational training and labour transfer programmes,
      3. Monitor the working conditions of Tibetans in their new places of employment
      4. Ensure respect for Tibetan religious, linguistic and cultural identity
      5. Explain the steps it intends to take to comply with its international obligations to prevent forced labour and trafficking, and to ensure access to remedy and compensation for victims of such practices
   3. 6 February 2023: China: UN experts alarmed by separation of 1 million Tibetan children from families and forced assimilation at residential schools
   4. 19 May 2020: UN experts urge China to drop charges against jailed Tibetan minority human rights defender A-Nya Sengdra
   5. 6 June 2018: China: UN human rights experts condemn 5-year jail term for Tibetan activist Tashi Wangchuk, urging China to:
      
      1. Comply with its international human rights commitments, to grant Tashi Wangchuk immediate release and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations
   6. 21 February 2018: China: UN experts denounce the criminalization of linguistic and cultural rights advocacy Tashi Wangchuk, urging China to:
      
      1. Release Tashi Wangchuk immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law

 

 

National security legal framework, judicial independence and due process

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of China, 3 March 2023:

• • Take all necessary legislative and administrative measures to guarantee the full independence and impartiality of the judiciary

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Concluding Obserations on the ninth period report of China, 12 May 2023:

• • Immediately close all extralegal detention facilities (“black jails”) and release all women detained in such places of detention or transfer them to regular detention facilities or to prisons under the penitentiary system, and prosecute and adequately punish those operating extra-legal places of detention, including public officials and non-State actors

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Decision 1 (108) under its Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure, 24 November 2022:

• • Undertake a full review of its legal framework governing national security, counter terrorism and minority rights in the XUAR to ensure their full compliance with the State party’s obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

But also, OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, 31 August 2022:

• • Undertakes a full review of the legal framework governing national security, counter-terrorism and minority rights in XUAR to ensure their compliance with binding international human rights law

 

Letters ('communications') from the UN Special Procedures (Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups) 

1. 14 February 2024, AL CHN 1/2024, joined by 1 mandate, letter on the analysis of the content of provisions and amendments made to two Chinese administrative regulations: the Administrative Measures for the Practice of Law by Lawyers and the Measures on the Administration of Law Firms, which entered into force between 2016 and 2018, which are not in line with international standards related to the right to a fair trial and its guarantees, and may in their application, limit the functions of lawyers in China by restricting both their work and their freedoms. 

• • Repeal article 105 of the Criminal Law, and any legal provisions allowing for the use of RSDL.  
  • Repeal restrictions to the right to counsel and to family notification on national security grounds. 
  • Review and reconsideration of these laws and administrative regulations (Measures on the Administration of Law Firms, Administrative Measures on the Practice of Law by Lawyers, Measures for Annual Inspection of Lawyers and Law Firms, China's Criminal Law, China's Criminal Procedure Law) to ensure that they are in compliance with relevant international human rights standards, in line with the following benchmarks: 

1. 1. 1. Any laws and administrative measures should allow lawyers: 
         1. to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference;
         2. to travel and to consult with their clients freely both within their own country and abroad;
         3. to not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognized professional duties, standards and ethics;
         4. to be adequately safeguarded by the authorities while they exercise their duties;
         5. to enjoy their freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly, and the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights;
         6. to have assurances that they shall not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions. 
      2. Mechanisms for effective and equal access to lawyers must be provided for all persons within Chinese territory and to all individuals subject to Chinese jurisdiction, without distinction of any kind, including by providing services in languages preferred by the client. Further, individuals charged with crimes should have prompt and private access to a lawyer of their choosing. 
      3. Law firms should not be deputized with the role of assessing the conduct of lawyers under criminal law, nor should they be the sole guarantors of lawyers’ ability to practice law. Measures implementing such duties should be repealed. 
      4. Lawyers must be able to retain their license to practice regardless of their employment status and this right may only be terminated by an impartial disciplinary committee on the basis of recognized standards and ethics of the legal profession. Lawyers must have the right to obtain judicial review of any termination decision. Termination decisions should not be made on the basis of secret evidence, to evidence.

• • Take all necessary measures to ensure that this pattern is corrected and take measures to extend remedies to those who have already experienced harm as a result of the implementation of these regulations. 

 

Opinions of Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) 

1.  1 May 2023, Opinion 30/2023 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Hang Tung Chow, detained on 08/09/2021. The WGAD determined the detention of Ms. Hang Tung Chow to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Take the steps necessary to remedy the situation of Hang Tung Chow without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international norms, including those set out in the UDHR and the ICCPR. 
   • Revise the provisions of the National Security Law to ensure they comply with its obligations under article 9 and 14 of the Covenant. 
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Hang Tung Chow and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of her rights. 
2.  28 September 2022, Opinion 41/2022 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Qin Yongpei, detained on 31/10/2019. The WGAD determined the detention of Qin Yongpei to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Repeal article 105 (2) of the Criminal Law (crime of ‘inciting subversion of State power’) or bring it into line with its obligations under international human rights law. 
3.  11 May 2022, Opinion 9/2022 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Wang Jianbing, detained on 19/09/2021. The WGAD determined the detention of Wang Jianbing to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Repeal article 105 (2) of the Criminal Code (crime of ‘inciting subversion of State power’) or bring it into line with its obligations under international human rights law.   
4.  16 February 2022, Opinion 54/2021 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Zhang Baocheng, detained on 27/05/2019. The WGAD determined the detention of Zhang Baocheng to be arbitrary under categories I, II and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Bring its laws, particularly articles 293 (crime of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’) and 120 of the Criminal Law, into conformity with the recommendations made in the present opinion and with the commitments made by China under international human rights law.  
5. 2 February 2022, Opinion 76/2021 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Zhang Shaojie, detained on 17/11/2013. The WGAD determined the detention of Zhang Shaojie to be arbitrary under categories I, II and III. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Repeal article 277 of the Criminal Code or bring it into line with its obligations under international human rights law. 
6.  2 February 2022, Opinion 66/2021 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Zhang Haitao, detained on 26/06/2015. The WGAD determined the detention of Zhang Haitao to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Repeal articles 105 (2) (crime of ‘inciting subversion of State power’) and 293 (crime of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’) of the Criminal Law or bring them into line with its obligations under international human rights law. 
7.  12 November 2021, Opinion 30/2021 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Ding Jiaxi, Zhang Zhongshun and Dai Zhenya, detained on 26/12/2019 The WGAD determined the detention of Ding Jiaxi, Zhang Zhongshun and Dai Zhenya to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Repeal the provisions governing Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location (RSDL) or bring them into line with its obligations under international human rights law.   
   • Repeal article 105 (2) of the Criminal Law (crime of ‘inciting subversion of State power’) or bring it into line with the Government’s obligations under international human rights law. 
8.  26 October 2021, Opinion 25/2021 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Zhang Zhan, Chen Mei and Cai Wei, detained on 14-15/05/2020 (Zhang Zhan) and 19/04/2020 (Chen Mei and Cai Wei). The WGAD determined the detention of Zhang Zhan, Chen Mei and Cai Wei to be arbitrary under categories I, II, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Repeal the provisions governing Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location (RSDL) or bring them into line with its obligations under international human rights law.  
   • Bring its laws, particularly article 293 (crime of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’) of its Criminal Code, into conformity with the recommendations made in the present opinion and with the commitments made by China under international human rights law 

 

Surveillance, censorship and free expression

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of China, 3 March 2023:

• • Respect the freedom indispensable for creative activity and the enjoyment of the benefits of scientific progress and its applications, including by ensuring that online and analogue censorship does not limit them
  • Ensure that surveillance, both online and offline, complies with strict tests of legality, necessity and proportionality, including for matters of national security, and does not infringe on the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals, and immediately cease imposed co-habitation

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Concluding Observations on the combined second and third periodic reports of China, 1 September 2022:

• • Take all measures necessary to ensure that persons with disabilities are able to enjoy the right to freedom of expression and opinion, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, including in their cooperation with the United Nations

But also, OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, 31 August 2022:

• • Ensure that surveillance both on and offline comply with strict tests of legality, necessity and proportionality, including for matters of national security, and does not infringe on fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals

As well as, in letter JAL CHN 12/2022 sent on 19 December 2022, 15 mandates follow up on eight Special Procedures communications to the Chinese Government since 2017 about alleged widespread and grave violations of the rights of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities; with government response on 7 March 2023 (link). The letter outlines benchmarks to facilitate substantive substantive reform in the XUAR in line with the Government’s international law obligations, including to:

• • Ensure all surveillance programmes and activities are approved for use against a specific person only—as authorized by a competent, independent, and impartial judicial body—and subject to appropriate, express limitations on the time, manner, place and scope of the surveillance permitted in accordance with international human rights law

 

 

Reprisals, meaningful cooperation with the UN, and  unrestricted access to the country for UN experts

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Concluding Observations on the ninth period report of China, 12 May 2023:

• • Ensure the protection of women human rights defenders from intimidation, harassment and reprisals for their work, including when they have engaged or sought to engage with the Committee
  • Provide the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and relevant humanitarian organizations, with full and unimpeded access to victims of trafficking from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea;

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of China, 3 March 2023:

• • Give United Nations independent human rights experts unhindered access to all vocational education and training centres
  • Effectively implement the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Committee against Torture, as well as the recommendations of the OHCHR assessment of human rights concerns in the XUAR (para. 151)

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Decision 1 (108) under its Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure, 24 November 2022:

• • Effectively implement the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Committee against Torture, as well as the recommendations included in the OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in the XUAR (para. 151)

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Concluding Observations on the combined second and third periodic reports of China, 1 September 2022:

• • Ensure that persons with disabilities are able to enjoy the right to freedom of expression and opinion, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, including in their cooperation with the United Nations

Human Rights Committee, Concluding Observations on the fourth periodic report of Hong Kong, 22 July 2022:

• • Ensure that members and representatives of civil society organizations are not charged under the Hong Kong National Security Law or victimized in any other way as a result of their engagement with the Committee for the review, with other international human rights mechanisms, including other UN Treaty Bodies, the UN Human Rights Council, the Special Procedures of the [Human Rights] Council and the Universal Periodic Review mechanism, or with international NGOs

But also, OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, 31 August 2022:

• • Invites as a matter of priority the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Minorities, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, the Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights and the Working Group on Business and Human Rights to conduct unrestricted country visits to China, including to XUAR
  • Facilitates further visits by OHCHR and technical exchanges on human rights issues in XUAR, in follow up to the High Commissioner’s visit
  • Cooperates with the ILO and social partners in the implementation of the recommendations made by the ILO Committee of Experts on Conventions No. 111 and 122, including by allowing a technical advisory mission, and in the implementation of Conventions No. 29 and 105 on forced labour, and the 2014 Protocol
  • Implements, as a matter of priority, the Concluding Observations from the UN Committee against Torture and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Communications and statements from UN Special Procedures

• In letter JAL CHN 12/2022 sent on 19 December 2022, 15 mandates follow up on eight Special Procedures communications to the Chinese Government since 2017 about alleged widespread and grave violations of the rights of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities; with government response on 7 March 2023 (link). The letter outlines benchmarks to facilitate substantive substantive reform in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in line with the Government’s international law obligations, including to:
  
  • Invite relevant Special Procedures mandates to conduct country visits, and grant them full and unimpeded access to current and former places of alleged mass arbitrary detention, as well as the capacity to confidentially interview persons who may have been detained and others with relevant information, without reprisals, consistent with the Terms of Reference for Special Procedures mandate holders
• 10 June 2022: China must address grave human rights concerns and enable credible international investigation: UN experts. They urge China to:
  • Cooperate fully with the UN human rights system and grant unhindered access to independent experts who have received and addressed allegations of significant human rights violations and repression of fundamental freedoms in the country, including allowing visits by UN Special Procedures mechanisms and granting full access, particularly to places of detention
• 26 June 2020: UN experts call for decisive measures to protect fundamental freedoms in China. They urge China to:
  
  • Invite mandate-holders, including those with a mandate to monitor civil and political rights, to conduct independent missions and to permit those visits to take place in an environment of confidentiality, respect for human rights defenders, and full avoidance of reprisals against those with whom mandate-holders may meet

 

 

Transnational repression

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Decision 1 (108) under its Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure, 24 November 2022:

• • Immediately cease all intimidation and reprisals against Uyghur and other ethnic Muslim communities, the diaspora and those who speak out in their defence, both domestically and abroad

But also, OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, 31 August 2022:

• • Ceases immediately all intimidation and reprisals against Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities abroad in connection with their advocacy, and their family members in XUAR
  • Ensure that all citizens including of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities can hold a valid passport and travel to and from China without fear of reprisals

Press releases from Special Procedures

1. 1. 27 October 2023: Lao PDR: Stop deporting human rights defenders [back to China], says UN expert
   2. 1 April 2022: Saudi Arabia: UN experts say Uyghurs must not be extradited to China, urge proper risk assessment
   3. 16 December 2021: Morocco: UN experts say extradition of Uyghur asylum seeker to China violates principle of non-refoulement

 

 

LGBTI rights

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Concluding Obserations on the ninth period report of China, 12 May 2023:

• • Adopt legislative and policy measures to combat gender-based violence and discrimination against LBTI women, including hate speech and physical, verbal and emotional abuse
  • Protect the human rights of LGBTI women in all areas covered by the Convention and conduct awareness-raising campaigns to address their stigmatization in society
  • Ensure that transgender women can change the gender marker in their passports and other identity documents, without onerous requirements
  • Ensure that LBTI women can freely participate in political and public life and exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly without fear of reprisals, harassment or intimidation

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of China, 3 March 2023:

• • Adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislative, political and administrative measures prohibiting direct, indirect and multiple discrimination and harassment
  • Consider criminalizing hate speech and hate crimes against LGBTI persons in accordance with article 2 (2) of the Covenant and taking into account the Committee’ s general comment No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights
  • Intensify its efforts to combat discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, including by conducting public awareness-raising campaigns

 

 

Worker's rights (in addition to recommendations to above-mentioned communities)

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Concluding Obserations on the ninth period report of China, 12 May 2023:

• • Reinforce monitoring mechanisms, including regular labour inspections, and strengthen women’s access to confidential and independent complaint mechanisms, to address employment discrimination against women on the grounds of pregnancy and maternity
  • Ratify the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) and the Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183) of ILO
  • Review wages in all sectors, apply gender-sensitive analytical job classification and evaluation methods, conduct regular pay surveys, with a view to better understanding the reasons for the gender wage gap, and strictly enforce the principle of equal pay for work of equal value in order to narrow and ultimately close the gender pay gap
  • Provide mandatory training for employers, trade unions and employees on the prohibition of sexual harassment, ensure that all reports of sexual harassment are effectively investigated and that those responsible are adequately punished, and ratify the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190) of ILO

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of China, 3 March 2023:

• • Abolish the household registration system (hukou) and ensure that all rural-to-urban migrants are able to enjoy the work opportunities, as well as the social security, housing, health-care and education benefits, enjoyed by residents in urban areas
  • Amend the Trade Union Law to allow workers to form independent trade unions, both within and outside the structure of the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU)
  • Consider legal recognition of the right to strike
  • Consider withdrawing its declaration on article 8, paragraph 1, of the ICESCR
  • Adopt a holistic approach in addressing the informal economy and take all measures necessary to reduce the extent of the informal economy and to increase employment opportunities in the formal labour market
  • Ensure just and favourable conditions of work, especially for workers in the private sector
  • Regularize the situation of informal sector workers by progressively improving their working conditions and including them in the social security system
  • Ensure that all categories of workers have access to medical and accident insurance, as well as to adequate compensation for injuries and work-related diseases
  • Define and prohibit harassment, including sexual harassment in the workplace, through law, and establish criminal sanctions for sexual harassment
  • Consider ratifying the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) , the ILO Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190), the ILO Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the ILO Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)

Letters ('communications') from the UN Special Procedures (Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups)

1. 1. 3 February 2022, JAL CHN 2/2022, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the arrest and enforced disappearance of labour rights defender Wang Jianbing, and human rights defenders Yang Maodong (pen-name Guo Feixiong), and Tang Jitian; government response on 1 April 2022 (link).
   2. 11 December 2019, JAL CHN 22/2019, joined by 6 mandates, letter on arbitrary detention, short-term disappearance and charging of health rights defenders Cheng Yuan, Liu Dazhi and Wu Gejianxiong, from the organisation Changsha Funeng; government response on 23 December 2019 (link).
   3. 19 July 2019, JUA CHN 14/2019, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and charging of labour rights defenders Ke Chengbing, Wei Zhili and Yang Zhengjun; government response on 20 September 2019 (link).
   4. 1 May 2019, JAL CHN 3/2019, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the arrest, detention and charges of five labour rights defenders at the Jasic Technology factory in Shenzhen; government response on 21 May 2019 (link).
   5. 30 May 2018, JAL CHN 10/2018, joined by 5 mandates, letter on the alleged unsafe working conditions at Catcher Technology’s factory in Suqian, northern Jiangsu Province, and the implications for the human rights of the affected workers; government response on 19 July 2018 (link).

 

 

Women's rights (in addition to recommendations to above-mentioned communities)

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

See all recommendations from the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in its Concluding Observations on the ninth period report of China, 12 May 2023. Summarised by ISHR in this explainer. Recommendations include:

• • Adopt a comprehensive definition of discrimination against women that explicitly prohibits direct and indirect discrimination in the public and private spheres, including intersecting forms of discrimination, and ensure the effective implementation of the prohibition of discrimination against all women facing discrimination, including women with disabilities, LBTI, Tibetan and Uyghur women and women from the DPRK, through appropriate enforcement mechanisms and sanctions
  • Ensure that all acts of gender-based violence against women are effectively investigated and perpetrators prosecuted and adequately punished
  • Amend the Anti-Domestic Violence Law to extend its protection to all forms of domestic violence, including economic violence, economic control and neglect, and violent acts by former intimate partners
  • Provide mandatory and continuous capacity-building for judges, prosecutors, the police and other law enforcement officers, health and social workers, on the strict application of the Anti-Domestic Violence Law and the Law on administrative penalties and criminal liability, the issuance and monitoring of protection orders, gender-sensitive investigation and interrogation procedures and the provision of victim support services
  • Raise awareness among women on the remedies and services available under the Anti-Domestic Violence Law and the Law on Administrative penalties and criminal liability, including protection orders and victim support services such as shelters, and ensure the accessibility of these services throughout the State party, in particular in rural and remote areas
  • Provide mandatory training for employers, trade unions and employees on the prohibition of sexual harassment, ensure that all reports of sexual harassment are effectively investigated and that those responsible are adequately punished, and ratify the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190) of ILO
  • Raise awareness among students, teachers and the general public of the new Regulations on the Protection of Minors at Schools, adopted in 2021, which include provisions against sexual harassment and cyberbullying, and monitor the establishment of zero-tolerance handling mechanisms for bullying, sexual assault and harassment against students
  • Raise the retirement age of women to be equal to that of men, with a view to increasing pension benefits and addressing old-age poverty of women
  • Provide capacity-building to judges, prosecutors, police and other law enforcement officers, as well as health professionals and service providers, on the strict application of the 2016 Regulation on Prohibiting Fetal Sex Identification and Sex-Selective Termination of Pregnancy for Non-Medical Purposes and other measures, including those envisaged in the National Plan on Population Development (2016–2030), aimed at preventing fetal sex identification for non-medical purposes, sex-selective abortion, forced abortion and sterilization and female infanticide and strengthen public awareness-raising campaigns on the criminal nature of these practices
  • Strengthen and fully integrate into the process of women’s health management sexual and reproductive health services and rights, including voluntary and rights-based family planning services enabling women and adolescent girls to make their own informed decisions about contraceptive use and methods
  • Integrate age-appropriate education on sexual and reproductive health and rights into curricula at all levels of education, and strengthen confidential access for adolescent girls and young women to youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services
  • Ensure awareness-raising and capacity-building programmes for the judiciary and law students on women’s rights and gender equality, to eliminate judicial gender bias and discriminatory gender stereotypes
  • Ensure that these measures address, in particular, the credibility and weight given to women’s testimony, evidence and claims, as parties and witnesses in legal proceedings, as well as judicial bias as to what is considered to be appropriate behaviour for women
  • Adopt a specific strategy to eliminate discriminatory stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and in society, and intensify education programmes to promote equal sharing of childcare responsibilities and awareness of the joint responsibility of men and women for the upbringing and development of their children, whether girls or boys
  • Ensure that women have the same rights as men with regard to custody of children
  • Ensure that women in rural areas have rights equal to men to contracted land and homestead rights
  • Protect the land rights of rural women by ensuring registration of their name on the land contract management right certificate, and on the family property use right certificate
  • Improve the conditions in detention facilities where women are deprived of liberty, in accordance with international standards and the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), address overcrowding in prisons, guarantee separate accommodation for different categories of detainees, as well as for women detained with their children, and ensure the provision of adequate health services, including menstrual hygiene, to women in detention

But also, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of China, 3 March 2023:

• • Adopt effective measures to ensure the strict enforcement of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women
  • Eliminate the persistent disparities between men and women and promote full access to employment, housing and higher education
  • Adopt all necessary measures, with specific targets and a time frame, to eliminate the persistent gender wage gap
  • Eliminate the multiple discrimination faced by rural women, in particular with regard to land tenure and access to education, health care and employment
  • Increase efforts to combat gender stereotypes, including by increasing the use of the media and awareness-raising campaigns and enhancing women ’ s representation in the judiciary, senior public positions and the top political leadership and by considering quotas
  • define and prohibit harassment, including sexual harassment in the workplace, through law, and establish criminal sanctions for sexual harassment

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Concluding Observations on the combined second and third periodic reports of China, 1 September 2022:

• • Engage with organizations of women and girls with disabilities and secure their direct participation in all processes of public decision-making in a safe environment, particularly relating to the development of policies regarding gender equality and gender-based violence against women and girls, including domestic violence, forced marriage and trafficking
  • Allocate specific funds for organizations of women with disabilities to enable their full and effective participation in the process of drafting, developing and implementing laws and policies and in the monitoring framework, including in monitoring and reporting on efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals
  • Combat multiple and intersectional discrimination by systematically collecting and analysing data on the situation of women with disabilities in all areas relevant to them, and in consultation with organizations of women with disabilities, with a view to guiding policy planning for the implementation of article 6 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other international frameworks
  • Systematically monitor and collect disaggregated data on the locations and prevalence of exploitation of, violence against and abuse of persons with disabilities, including women and girls with disabilities who are victims of domestic violence, trafficking and forced marriage
  • Revise the law on the protection of the rights and interests of women, with a view to including a disability perspective and addressing the specific risks of gender-based violence and the barriers to protection faced by women and girls with disabilities
  • Ensure the accessibility and availability of health-care facilities, services and equipment for persons with disabilities across the State party, with specific emphasis on the sexual and reproductive health of women and girls with disabilities

 

 

Persons with disabilities' rights (in addition to recommendations to above-mentioned communities)

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

See all recommendations from the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Concluding Observations on the combined second and third periodic reports of China, 1 September 2022. Recommendations include:

• • Develop an action plan to end, as a matter of priority, the institutionalization of all persons with disabilities, including in leprosy colonies or villages, with measures to prevent transinstitutionalization, with specific time frames, human, technical and financial resources, and clear responsibilities for implementation and independent monitoring, in close consultation with organizations of persons with disabilities, including women with disabilities, and in line with the Committee's general comment No. 5 (2017) on living independently and being included in the community and its guidelines on deinstitutionalization, including in emergencies, adopted in 2022
  • Adopt a national strategy in order to raise awareness among all persons with disabilities, including in rural areas, about their rights under the Convention and to provide them with information about measures taken to protect their rights
  • Implement comprehensive awareness-raising programmes, including training, on the rights of persons with disabilities and the human rights model of disability for policymakers, the judiciary, law enforcement officers, the media, educators, professionals working with and for persons with disabilities, the general public and families of children with disabilities
  • Implement the guiding opinions of the Supreme People's Court on comprehensively promoting the construction of litigation service centres in the people ’ s courts, issued in 2014, to ensure access to justice for persons with disabilities, including by providing reasonable accommodation for illiterate persons with hearing impairments and negotiating accommodations with applicants, such as providing documents in Braille and Easy Read, audio and video transcription and interpreters of natural sign language in courts
  • Strengthen professional development programmes for judges, other judicial officials, administrative professionals and other relevant government officials on the provisions of the Convention and the human rights model of disability and their implementation in domestic law

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Concluding Obserations on the ninth period report of China, 12 May 2023:

• • Ensure that women and girls with disabilities have adequate access to the labour market, as well as to justice and victim support services when they have experienced gender-based violence, and that they may freely decide where and with whom they choose to live
  • Address intersecting forms of discrimination against women and girls with disabilities and ensure their inclusion and access to all rights under the Convention, including by eliminating restrictions on their legal capacity and ensuring their access to inclusive education, employment and health services, including sexual health and reproductive health services
  • Ensure the dignified treatment of women and girls with psychosocial disabilities and their effective access to mental health services
  • Strengthen access for girls and women from disadvantaged groups, including rural girls, girls whose parents have migrated to urban areas and girls and women with disabilities, to mainstream education at all levels and provide updated disaggregated data on their educational access

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of China, 3 March 2023:

• • Adopt a unified concept of disability in all professional and legal areas that covers all persons with disabilities, including women and children with disabilities, as also raised by the CRPD

 

Letters ('communications') from the UN Special Procedures (Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups)

1. 1. 11 December 2019, JAL CHN 22/2019, joined by 6 mandates, letter on arbitrary detention, short-term disappearance and charging of health rights defenders Cheng Yuan, Liu Dazhi and Wu Gejianxiong, from the organisation Changsha Funeng; government response on 23 December 2019 (link).

 

 

Children's rights (in addition to recommendations to above-mentioned communities)

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Concluding Obserations on the ninth period report of China, 12 May 2023:

• • Incorporate human rights education, including education on women’s rights and gender equality, into curricula at all levels of education, introduce mandatory teacher training on human rights education and training on ways to avoid reproducing gender inequalities in schools and review educational materials with a view to removing gender stereotypes
  • Raise awareness among students, teachers and the general public of the new Regulations on the Protection of Minors at Schools, adopted in 2021, which include provisions against sexual harassment and cyberbullying, and monitor the establishment of zero-tolerance handling mechanisms for bullying, sexual assault and harassment against students
  • Strengthen access for girls and women from disadvantaged groups, including rural girls, girls whose parents have migrated to urban areas and girls and women with disabilities, to mainstream education at all levels and provide updated disaggregated data on their educational access in its next periodic report
  • Ensure that girls and women belonging to the ethnic minorities have access to instruction in their mother tongues, such as Kazakh, Tibetan and Uyghur, and reverse the closure of schools providing instruction in minority languages
  • Abolish the coerced residential (boarding) school system imposed on Tibetan girls and authorize the establishment of and subsidize private Tibetan schools
  • Strengthen and fully integrate into the process of women’s health management sexual and reproductive health services and rights, including voluntary and rights-based family planning services enabling women and adolescent girls to make their own informed decisions about contraceptive use and methods
  • Integrate age-appropriate education on sexual and reproductive health and rights into curricula at all levels of education, and strengthen confidential access for adolescent girls and young women to youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of China, 3 March 2023:

• • Abolish immediately the coerced residential (boarding) school system imposed on Tibetan children and allow private Tibetan schools to be established.
  • Increase its overall expenditure on education as a percentage of the gross national product to reverse the relative downward trend of recent years
  • Ensure that the nine years of compulsory public education are free and take appropriate measures to ensure the equal distribution of funds, with a view to ensuring equal access to, and the availability of, education in urban and rural areas

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Concluding Observations on the combined second and third periodic reports of China, 1 September 2022:

• • Develop strategies to ensure the participation of children with disabilities in consultation processes for the implementation of the Convention that are inclusive, child-friendly, transparent and respectful of their rights to freedom of expression and thought
  • Implement the provisions of the national population development plan (2016–2030), prioritizing increased support for families of persons with disabilities in order to strengthen home education support services for children with learning disabilities, provide regularized and professionalized family support and the referral services needed for children with disabilities, and reinforce the responsibilities of parents as the primary guardians of children
  • Provide specific support services to parents with disabilities, prohibit the separation of children from their parents on the basis of the disability of either the child or one or both of the parents, and ensure that alternative care is provided only within the extended family or an alternative family instead of placement in institutions
  • Introduce legislation containing an enforceable right to inclusive education and develop a comprehensive action plan for implementing high-quality inclusive education for all children with disabilities, including those with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities, with specific targets, time frames and budgets, the transfer of resources from special schools, and inclusive education curricula
  • Revise its Regulations on the Education of Persons with Disabilities with the aim of eliminating all discriminatory provisions regarding the education of children with disabilities, and explicitly provide for quality inclusive education to ensure that no child with disabilities is excluded from the general education system on the basis of impairment

 

 

Business and human rights, including business activities overseas

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of China, 3 March 2023:

• • Establish a clear regulatory framework for companies operating in China to ensure that their activities promote and do not negatively affect the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural human rights
  • Adopt appropriate legislative and administrative measures to ensure the legal liability of business entities and their subsidiaries, as well as sub-suppliers, legally domiciled in and/or owned by China, regarding violations of economic, social and cultural rights in the context of their activities abroad, particularly, but not limited to, companies working on the extraction of raw materials, construction and infrastructure projects
  • Adopt a national action plan for businesses and human rights
  • Ensure that business entities operating in China or those domiciled under China’ s jurisdiction and those acting abroad, including their sub-suppliers, as well as institutions that provide financing, are held accountable for their violations of economic, social and cultural rights, paying particular attention to Indigenous Peoples ’ and peasants ’ land rights, environmental impacts and expropriation in the context of real estate and infrastructure projects
  • Ensure that follow-up and monitoring mechanisms are put in place to investigate and sanction them for their harmful activities
  • Ensure that victims of such violations have access to effective complaint mechanisms and affordable and effective remedies, including judicial remedies and adequate reparation

 

Letters ('communications') from the UN Special Procedures (Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups)

1. 1. 25 June 2024, JAL CHN 4/2024, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the allegations of serious, ongoing threats of displacement of the Indigenous Newar Peoples and violations of their human rights due to the construction of the Kathmandu-Terai/Madhesh Fast Track (Expressway) Road Project. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) supported the feasibility study of the Expressway. The construction and development of the Expressway has reportedly involved various domestic and international entities, including businesses from the Republic of Korea and China. 
   2. 16 May 2024, JAL CHN 7/2024, joined by 8 mandates, letter on the alleged prolonged adverse human rights impacts of the release of hazardous substances in 2016 in Viet Nam by the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation, a subsidiary of Formosa Plastics Corporation, a company headquartered in Taiwan, province of China, and particularly to highlight the continued lack of access to effective remedy by those affected by the toxic discharge. 
   3. 8 January 2024, JAL CHN 19/2023, joined by 6 mandates, letter on threats of eviction of Indigenous Peoples from their ancestral lands, and subsequent loss of livelihoods for the implementation of an industrial development project in Rempang Island, Riau Islands Province, Indonesia, without the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous Peoples. This case involves a subsidiary of Xinyi Glass Holdings Limited, a company domiciled in Hong Kong.
   4. 25 September 2023, JAL CHN 17/2023, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the impacts of Wanbao Mining Limited, a subsidiary of an arm of China’s state-owned defence company, China North Industries Group Corporation Limited (NORINCO), continued operation of the Letpadaung Copper Mine (Myanmar); without a government response.
   5. 28 April 2023, JUA CHN 3/2023, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the imminent risk of execution of three persons and long prison convictions of three others, in the context of alleged persecution of members of the Howeitat tribe (Saudi Arabia), who have been resisting evictions from their homes under the NEOM project, part of the Saudi 2030 Vision ; without a government response.
   6. 13 January 2023, JAL CHN 11/2022, joined by 9 mandates, letter on the serious risks posed to Wet’suwet’en Indigenous Peoples and communities related to the development of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project (Canada); without a government response.
   7. 19 October 2022, JAL CHN 9/2022, joined by 11 mandates, letter on the actual and potential human rights impacts of the Mayan Train Development Project (Mexico); without a government response.
   8. 16 September 2022, JAL CHN 7/2022, joined by 3 mandates, letter on four spills of toxic substances from the Veladero mine (Argentina) from 2015 to 2022; government response on 28 November 2022 (link).
   9. 18 January 2022, JUA CHN 1/2022, joined by 4 mandates, letter on human rights abuses faced by a group of Vietnamese migrant workers, located at Linglong construction site near the northern town of Zrenjanin in Serbia; government response on 15 March 2022 (link).
   10. 7 June 2021, JAL CHN 6/2021, joined by 3 mandates, letter on the violation of the rights to sexual and reproductive health of women and girls in Chile, one of the companies involved, Zheijiang Xianju Pharmaceutical, is based in China; government response on 06 August 2021 (link).
   11. 30 March 2021, JAL CHN 3/2021, joined by 7 mandates, letter on the alleged role of Omegle, a live video chat website based in the United States, in facilitating self-generated and live video streamed sexual activities and material online that depicts or otherwise represents children appearing to engage in sexually explicit conduct; government response on 07 May 2021 (link).
   12. 12 March 2021, JAL CHN 18/2020, joined by 7 mandates, letter on the alleged forced labour, arbitrary detention, and trafficking in persons of Uyghur and other minority workers within and outside the XUAR; government response on 13 October 2021 (link). [Special Procedures communications have been sent to 64 different companies involved.]
   13. 17 March 2021, JAL CHN 2/2021, joined by 2 mandates, letter on the alleged violations of human rights related to the pollution, waste, and effects on climate change resulting from the operation of coal powered plants operating or planned to operate in Bosnia and Herzegovina; government response 27 May 2021 (link).
   14. 20 July 2020, JAL CHN 15/2020, joined by 11 mandates, letter on the serious risks posed to the enjoyment of human rights and associated infrastructure on the proposed Frieda River gold and copper mine and associated tailings dam (“Sepik Development Project”, Papua New Guinea); government response on 23 October 2020 (link1 and link2).
   15. 17 June 2019, JAL CHN 8/2019, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the criminalisation of members of the indigenous community, Gregorio Rojas Paniura, Edison Vargas Huamanga and Nohemí Portilla Vargas, in the context of the mining project Las Bambas (Peru); without a government response.
   16. 12 April 2019, JAL CHN 2/2019, joined by 5 mandates, letter on the death threats and attempted kidnappings against a human rights defender for cooperation with the World Bank and its Inspection Panel related to the High-Priority Roads Reopening and Maintenance Project (ProRoutes) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; government response on 21 May 2019 (link).
   17. 27 September 2018, JAL CHN 18/2018, joined by 8 mandates, letter on the alleged deprivation and clearance of agricultural and forest lands from at least 946 families in 25 villages of Preah Vihear Province in Cambodia due to concession of their lands to the five Cambodian subsidiaries of a China-based sugarcane enterprise, Guangdong Hengfu Group; government response on 10 December 2018 (link).
   18. 26 June 2018, JAL CHN 11/2018, joined by 8 mandates, letter on the allegations of kidnapping and threats against indigenous rights defenders in the context of a China-based mining company activities, in the 'Río Blanco' gold-silver mining (Ecuador); government response on 15 August 2018 (link).
   19. 22 May 2018, JAL CHN 9/2018, joined by 5 mandates, letter on the exposure of workers including children, to toxic chemicals while working in tobacco farms in Zimbabwe; government response on 19 July 2018 (link).

 

Press releases from Special Procedures, including recommendations to the Chinese government

1. 1. 7 December 2022: Mexico: Government and business must address negative impacts of Train Maya project, say UN experts, with relevant companies and investors domiciled in Spain, the United States and China
   2. 21 January 2022: UN experts deeply concerned by alleged trafficking of Vietnamese migrant workers to Serbia, urging China to:
      1. Ensure that businesses based in its territory or operating under its jurisdiction respect the human rights of all workers, including not only the businesses who rely on migrant labour but also labour recruitment agencies

 

 

Belt and Road Initiative

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of China, 3 March 2023:

• • Review its current loan repayment conditions to ensure that borrowing countries are not overloaded with unsustainable debt, particularly in a context of globally rising interest rates, and consider coordinating this with other States parties and international partners
  • Ensure that future loans are negotiated in accordance with international best practices and with a view to protecting and facilitating the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, including a transparent process free from corruption
  • Extend loans only to projects with a sustainable cost-benefit ratio and that entail the use of the borrowing country ’ s domestic suppliers and labourers
  • Rely less on lengthened payment timetables and extended grace periods for borrowing countries that are having repayment difficulties and more on renegotiation and/or debt cancellation
  • Ensure that conditionalities contribute positively to the enjoyment of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights

 

 

Environment and climate change

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Concluding Obserations on the ninth period report of China, 12 May 2023:

• • Ensure that women, including rural women, are represented on an equal basis with men in the development of legislation, policies and programmes on climate change, disaster response and disaster risk reduction
  • Integrate a gender perspective into such legislation and policies
  • Address the impact of climate change on women’s livelihoods and access to resources, in order to ensure that women are not disproportionately affected

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Concluding Observations on the third periodic report of China, 3 March 2023:

• • Take measures to achieve its nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement by, inter alia, increasing taxation of emissions
  • Further expand the emissions trading system to industries and sectors not currently included therein
  • Make all efforts to replace fossil fuel in its energy mix, including by increasing renewable energy as an alternative
  • Suspend permissions to construct coal-fired power plants and pause ongoing financing for construction, including in the State party and abroad
  • Take all the adaptation measures necessary to protect the environment and address environmental degradation, taking into account its effects on economic, social and cultural rights, particularly on the most affected and marginalized groups
  • Operationalize without delay its National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy 2035 accordingly, making its implementation a governance, institutional performance and budgetary priority

 

 

North Korean (DPRK) refugees

Concluding Observations from the UN Treaty Bodies

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Concluding Obserations on the ninth period report of China, 12 May 2023:

• • Ensure that women and girls from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) who are victims of trafficking are not criminalized for violations of immigration laws and have access to temporary residence permits and to basic services, including medical treatment, psychosocial counselling, education, alternative income-generating opportunities and rehabilitation programmes
  • Provide the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and relevant humanitarian organizations, with full and unimpeded access to victims of trafficking from the DPRK
  • Regularize the status of women from the DPRK and other women victims of trafficking who marry, either voluntarily or by forced marriage, or are in an unregistered union and have a child with a Chinese citizen
  • Ensure that their children obtain birth registration, are eligible for Chinese nationality and have access to education and health care without discrimination and would be allowed to leave China with their mothers who are defectors from the DPRK

 

Letters ('communications') from the UN Special Procedures (Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups) concerning at least 3’253 individuals

1. 1. 23 May 2024, UA CHN 11/2024, joined by 1 mandate, letter on additional information concerning allegation letter CHN 9/2023. Information that the victim is facing the risk of forcible repatriation in violation of the principle of non-refoulement. 
   2. 22 March 2024, JAL CHN 3/2024, joined by 5 mandates, letter on the trafficking in persons of women and girls from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) into China. According to the information received, girls and women from the DPRK have been trafficked for the purposes of forced marriage, sexual exploitation, forced labour and domestic servitude, especially prior to the 2020 border closure. 
   3. 18 July 2023, JAL CHN 9/2023, joined by 6 mandates, letter on the alleged arbitrary detention of at least 2,000 individuals from the DPRK; government response on 13 September 2023 (link).
   4. 7 June 2023, JUA CHN 7/2023, joined by 2 mandates, letter on the updated information on one of the individuals mentioned in the urgent appeal UA CHN 13/2021 dated 10 January 2022; government response on 21 July 2023 (link).
   5. 28 December 2022, UA CHN 13/2022, joined by 1 mandate, letter on one individual from the DPRK was arrested at an acquaintance’s house on 18 or 19 June 2021, and has since been detained ; government response on 22 February 2023 (link).
   6. 10 January 2022, JUA CHN 13/2021, joined by 2 mandates, letter on the arrest, detention and threat of repatriation of 6 individuals of the DPRK in China; government response on 04 April 2022 (link).
   7. 23 August 2021, JAL CHN 8/2021, joined by 3 mandates, letter on the arrest, detention and threat of repatriation of at least 1,170 individuals of the DPRK in China; government response on 27 September 2021 (link).
   8. 27 October 2020, JUA CHN 19/2020, joined by 3 mandates, letter on the arrest, detention and threat of repatriation of citizens of the DPRK in China; government response on 23 November 2020 (link).
   9. 21 February 2020, UA CHN 4/2020, joined by 1 mandate, letter on the arrest, detention and threat of repatriation of seven citizens of the DPRK, who were arrested and detained in China; government response on 20 March 2020 (link).
   10. 27 September 2019, UA CHN 20/2019, joined by 1 mandate, letter on the previous communications concerning the arrest, detention and threat of repatriation of 15 citizens of the DPRK (UA CHN 7/2019, UA CHN 10/2019, UA CHN 11/2019), information received that 9 individuals were transferred from the detention centre in Anshan City, Liaoning province to somewhere else on 17 September 2019 and three children were hosted in another facility have been reportedly transferred as well; without a government response.
   11. 23 September 2019, UA CHN 19/2019, joined by 1 mandate, letter on the arrest, detention and threat of repatriation of eight citizens of the DPRK, who were arrested and detained in China; government response on 21 October 2019 (link).
   12. 17 July 2019, UA CHN 13/2019, joined by 1 mandate, letter on the arrest, detention and threat of repatriation of eight citizens of the DPRK, who were arrested and detained in China; government response on 19 September 2019 (link).
   13. 28 May 2019, UA CHN 10/2019, joined by 1 mandate, letter on the arrest, detention and threat of repatriation of two citizens of the DPRK, who are currently in detention in a police station in Anshan city of Liaoning province; government response on 3 July 2019 (link).
   14. 27 May 2019, UA CHN 11/2019, joined by 1 mandate, letter on the arrest, detention and threat of repatriation of five citizens of the DPRK, who were arrested and detained in China; government response on 3 July 2019 (link)
   15. 30 April 2019, UA CHN 7/2019, joined by 1 mandate, letter on the arrest, detention and threat of repatriation of seven citizens of the DPRK, who are currently in detention in a police station in Shenyang city of Liaoning province.; government response on 3 June 2019 (link).
   16. 30 November 2018, JUA CHN 23/2018,  joined by 3 mandates, letter on the arrest, detention and threat of repatriation of five citizens of the DPRK, who are currently in detention in Song Ming police station; government response on 29 March 2019 (link).
   17. 10 October 2018, UA CHN 20/2018, joined by 1 mandate, letter on the arrest, detention and threat of repatriation of five citizens of the DPRK, who are currently in detention in Baishan Holding Centre, Jilin Province; government response on 06 December 2018 (link).
   18. 26 September 2018, JUA CHN 19/2018, joined by 4 mandates, letter on the arrest, detention and threat of repatriation of five citizens of the DPRK, as well as one baby born in China, who are currently in detention in Kaiyuan City, Liaoning Province; government response on 16 November 2018 (link).
   19. 6 March 2018, JUA CHN 6/2018; joined by 2 mandates, letter on the impending forced repatriation of six individuals to the DPRK, who are currently reported to be under the custody of the Chinese authorities; government response on 19 July 2018 (link).

 

Opinions of Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) concerning 4 individuals   

1. 20-24 August 2018, Opinion 54/2018 by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), concerning Kyeong-Hee Kang, Seung Cheol Kim, Keum Nam Lee and Myung-Ju Lee, detained on 25/08/2008 (Kyeong-Hee Kang), 00/07/2001 (Seung Cheol Kim), 00/12/1999 (Keum Nam Lee), and 00/12/2004 (Myung-Ju Lee). The WGAD determined the detention of Kyeong-Hee Kang, Seung Cheol Kim, Keum Nam Lee and Myung-Ju Lee to be arbitrary under categories I, III and V. The WGAD urged China to: 
   • Release Kang, Kim, Keum Nam Lee and Myung-Ju Lee immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.  
   • Ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Kang, Kim, Keum Nam Lee and Myung-Ju Lee and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights. 

 

Press releases from Special Procedures, including recommendations to the Chinese government

• • 17 October 2023: China must not forcibly repatriate North Korean escapees: UN experts, urging China to:
    
    • Not forcibly repatriate remaining North Korean escapees
    • Respect the principle of non-refoulement guaranteed under international law regardless of the migratory status (no one should be returned to a country where they would face the risk of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm, including the use of the death penalty, and enforced disappearance)

 

 

Discrimination against Africans and people of African descent

Letters ('communications') from the UN Special Procedures (Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups)

1. 1. 29 April 2020, JAL CHN 10/2020; joined by 5 mandates, letter on Racial discrimination, xenophobia, forced eviction, and disproportionate targeting of Africans and people of African descent by state and private actors amidst measures and restrictions to contain the COVID-19 pandemic particularly in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province in Southern China and the location of the largest population of people of African descent in China;  government response on 25 June 2020 (link).