The two photos below were taken by Sharon Hom of Human Rights in China around 10:30 a.m. last Friday in Geneva. Diplomats from a wide range of countries lined up for hours for a chance to sign up that afternoon for speaking slots in the U.N. Human Rights Council's review of China which took place on Monday morning. 111 countries signed up. The first 60 countries on the sign-up list got a chance to speak. (Click here to download the full PDF report of Monday's review, including short summaries of what all the speakers said. Click here to download a PDF chart compiled by HRIC listing all the recommendations that China rejected.) Australia and Canada got up early to be at the front of the line, and both expressed concerns about the Chinese government's human rights record. The UK and other European governments expressed concern later on. But voices of praise for the Chinese government's human rights record predominated. Overall, the session was considered a victory for the Chinese government's position that it is on the right track when it comes to respecting the rights of its people. Where was the U.S. delegation in this line?
U.S. diplomats made no attempt to stand in this line. Much to the outrage of human rights groups, the Obama administration chose to merely sit on the sidelines and quietly take notes.
The State department explained afterwards that it couldn't act because the Obama administration is in the midst of a review of its position towards the UN Human Rights Council, which the Bush administration has shunned. The Jurist blog quotes at length from remarks by State Department spokesperson Robert Wood:
[F]or one, we're reviewing our policy and strategy with regard to the Human Rights Council. Certainly, I can understand many people want to see us enunciate our policies very early on. You know, it does take time. We want to make sure that we’ve done a thorough review and that we not rush this. We want to get it right. Let me just be very clear: With this President and this Secretary, human rights is a very, very high priority. We’re very concerned – we’ve been very concerned about the operation of the Human Rights Council, and we want to take a look and see how we may engage with the Human Rights Council. But this is all part of the review, and as soon as we have completed that review, we will certainly make clear what our policies are. ...
The timing could not have been worse, given that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is going to China next week. This week's silence puts all the more political pressure on her not only to speak strongly but to produce results, which gives the Chinese foreign ministry and Hu Jintao's government the upper hand.
Yet Wolf insisted that this does not mean that the Obama administration plans to avoid raising human rights in its dealings with the Hu Jintao administration. "Human rights is going to be an important issue" on this trip, he said. To make sure that it will be, a number of human rights groups have issued a Letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. An excerpt:
As much as the Chinese government appears to resist outside pressure to improve its record, experience suggests that it does respond to such pressure. American interventions on behalf of jailed government critic Hu Jia contributed to his being moved to a prison closer to his family; sustained international pressure on the Chinese government to permanently relax rules on foreign journalists in China resulted in success. Ordinary people in China will also appreciate hearing the United States raise human rights issues in ways that echo their own day to day concerns about rule of law and government accountability. And we urge that you be mindful of the converse: that the Chinese government and people take careful note when the US is silent.
Our first indication of Clinton's approach will come on Friday at 1pm New York time, when she gives a speech to the Asia Society . There will be a live webcast here. You can also post questions or comments in advance here.
Why does this suprise you?
Obama has, according to some papers, decided to keep abu ghraib open and even increase its size.
Humand rights as defined by you, may not be the same as he defiens it.
Posted by: m.thomas | February 22, 2009 at 03:44 PM