March 23, 2004

Despite Chinese warnings, the United States plans to introduce a resolution condemning Beijing for suppressing religious freedom and other rights violations at the annual gathering of the U.N.'s top human rights body.

Announcing the decision, the State Department cited a "backsliding" in China's human rights record over the past year.

Beijing's foreign ministry responded to the news by saying China now had no choice but to suspend bilateral exchanges with the U.S. on human rights.

Earlier, a Chinese government official warned the U.S. to "think three times before acting" against China in Geneva, where the annual U.N. Commission on Human Rights meeting is currently underway.

The decision to go ahead with a resolution targeting China comes after a two-year interval.

Last year, to the dismay of human rights campaigners, the U.S. chose not to bring a resolution against China, citing leadership changes and "some limited but significant progress."

Washington also did not sponsor a China resolution in 2002, but on that occasion it was because the U.S. had not been voted onto the 53-member UNCHR.

Before 2002, the U.S. each year sponsored a resolution at the Geneva session, censuring Beijing for its rights record.

China managed to block the move, by gathering sufficient support from allies, mostly in the developing world, to prevent having the resolution brought to a vote - or even discussed, by getting a procedural action of "no-action" passed instead.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the U.S. goal was "to encourage China to take positive, concrete steps to meet its international [rights] obligations."

Washington called on other Commission members to support the resolution, and also to vote against any no-action motions to prevent debate on the resolution.

"Such no-action motions prevent the only global body charged specifically with human rights from fulfilling its mandate," he said.

Boucher said he knew of no co-sponsors for the resolution yet, but the U.S. would be circulating the resolution in the days ahead.

Acknowledging the likely difficulties ahead, he said that although a number of countries were concerned about the rights situation in China, "it's sometimes difficult to turn that concern into actual votes in the Commission,

Earlier, Human Rights Watch urged the U.S. not only to sponsor a resolution, but to work energetically to line up the support needed to get it passed.

"Without a meaningful lobbying effort, sponsorship is an empty exercise," said the organization's Asia division head, Brad Adams.

"The U.N. Human Rights Commission presents a rare forum for full public scrutiny and public pressure on countries that abuse their citizens, and China's record should be addressed in full view of the world," he said.

Adams also said Beijing's "implicit threat of deteriorating bilateral relations" with the U.S. should not prevent the U.S. from condemning abuses in China.

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed a resolution calling on the Bush Administration to insist that China adhere to human rights norms and to sponsor a resolution on China at Geneva.

This year's State Department report on global human rights took China to task for extra judicial killings, detentions of democrats, Christians and journalists, repression of the Falun Gong meditation movement, and abuses against Tibetans and Muslim Uighurs.

[...]

This year's UNCHR session began last Monday and runs until April 23. Motions and resolutions are passed by a simple majority of all 53 members voting, excluding abstentions.

Members of the body this year include a number of nations rights campaigners regard as serious violators of human rights, including Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Cuba and Zimbabwe.

The full list is: The United States, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bhutan, Brazil, Britain, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Gabon, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mauritania, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Togo, Uganda, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.