<str<strong>on</strong>g>Annual</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Report</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> Situati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Defenders</strong> <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a (2009)April 26, 2010Part II. The Ch<strong>in</strong>ese Government’s Failure to Promote <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong>Educati<strong>on</strong> and Protect <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Defenders</strong>A. Failure to promote human rights educati<strong>on</strong>“1. The State has <strong>the</strong> resp<strong>on</strong>sibility to take legislative, judicial, adm<strong>in</strong>istrative oro<strong>the</strong>r appropriate measures to promote <strong>the</strong> understand<strong>in</strong>g by all pers<strong>on</strong>s under itsjurisdicti<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir civil, political, ec<strong>on</strong>omic, social and cultural rights.2. Such measures shall <strong>in</strong>clude, <strong>in</strong>ter alia:(a) The publicati<strong>on</strong> and widespread availability <strong>of</strong> nati<strong>on</strong>al laws and regulati<strong>on</strong>sand <strong>of</strong> applicable basic <strong>in</strong>ternati<strong>on</strong>al human rights <strong>in</strong>struments;(b) Full and equal access to <strong>in</strong>ternati<strong>on</strong>al documents <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> field <strong>of</strong> human rights,<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> periodic reports by <strong>the</strong> State to <strong>the</strong> bodies established by <strong>the</strong><strong>in</strong>ternati<strong>on</strong>al human rights treaties to which it is a party, as well as <strong>the</strong> summaryrecords <strong>of</strong> discussi<strong>on</strong>s and <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficial reports <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se bodies.3. The State shall ensure and support, where appropriate, <strong>the</strong> creati<strong>on</strong> anddevelopment <strong>of</strong> fur<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong>dependent nati<strong>on</strong>al <strong>in</strong>stituti<strong>on</strong>s for <strong>the</strong> promoti<strong>on</strong> andprotecti<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> human rights and fundamental freedoms <strong>in</strong> all territory under itsjurisdicti<strong>on</strong>, whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>y be ombudsmen, human rights commissi<strong>on</strong>s or any o<strong>the</strong>rform <strong>of</strong> nati<strong>on</strong>al <strong>in</strong>stituti<strong>on</strong>.”-- Declarati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Defenders</strong>, Article 14The State has <strong>the</strong> resp<strong>on</strong>sibility to promote and facilitate <strong>the</strong> teach<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> humanrights and fundamental freedoms at all levels <strong>of</strong> educati<strong>on</strong> and to ensure that allthose resp<strong>on</strong>sible for tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g lawyers, law enforcement <strong>of</strong>ficers, <strong>the</strong> pers<strong>on</strong>nel <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> armed forces and public <strong>of</strong>ficials <strong>in</strong>clude appropriate elements <strong>of</strong> humanrights teach<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g programme.-- Declarati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Defenders</strong>, Article 15When it released its Acti<strong>on</strong> Plan <strong>in</strong> April, <strong>the</strong> State Council devoted an entire secti<strong>on</strong> to“human rights educati<strong>on</strong>.” Included were statements regard<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> additi<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> humanrights comp<strong>on</strong>ents to primary and sec<strong>on</strong>dary school curricula, human rights tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g forcivil servants, and vague promises to hold “activities am<strong>on</strong>g <strong>the</strong> general public” todissem<strong>in</strong>ate knowledge <strong>of</strong> citizens’ human rights. 120 While <strong>the</strong> broad scope <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>seproposals encompassed wide swaths <strong>of</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>ese society, <strong>the</strong> Acti<strong>on</strong> Plan itself did notc<strong>on</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> specific <strong>in</strong>formati<strong>on</strong> about how <strong>the</strong> educati<strong>on</strong>al programs would be carried out.CHRD has not been able to <strong>in</strong>dependently assess to what extent <strong>the</strong>se programs havebeen implemented, though CHRD has not learned <strong>of</strong> ei<strong>the</strong>r central or local governmentagencies sp<strong>on</strong>sor<strong>in</strong>g any new “activities am<strong>on</strong>g <strong>the</strong> general public” related to humanrights educati<strong>on</strong> s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> Acti<strong>on</strong> Plan was issued.The Acti<strong>on</strong> Plan was silent about <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> civil society <strong>in</strong> promot<strong>in</strong>g and protect<strong>in</strong>ghuman rights, to which <strong>the</strong> government has l<strong>on</strong>g been hostile. Dur<strong>in</strong>g 2009, <strong>the</strong>government c<strong>on</strong>t<strong>in</strong>ued to prohibit <strong>in</strong>dependent members <strong>of</strong> civil society from32
<str<strong>on</strong>g>Annual</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Report</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> Situati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Defenders</strong> <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a (2009)April 26, 2010participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> human rights educati<strong>on</strong>. Throughout <strong>the</strong> year, CHRD documented cases<strong>of</strong> human rights defenders denied <strong>the</strong> right to participate <strong>in</strong> rights-defense tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and<strong>in</strong>formati<strong>on</strong> sessi<strong>on</strong>s, police harassment <strong>of</strong> groups attempt<strong>in</strong>g to dissem<strong>in</strong>ate humanrights documents to fellow citizens, and pressure from academic <strong>in</strong>stituti<strong>on</strong>s <strong>on</strong> teachersand pr<strong>of</strong>essors who spoke out <strong>in</strong> defense <strong>of</strong> human rights.Pressure c<strong>on</strong>t<strong>in</strong>ued to be put <strong>on</strong> human rights defenders seek<strong>in</strong>g to attend <strong>in</strong>ternati<strong>on</strong>alworkshops run by NGOs or human rights organizati<strong>on</strong>s. This is not a new phenomen<strong>on</strong>by any means, but it is worth highlight<strong>in</strong>g as <strong>the</strong> situati<strong>on</strong> has not changed follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>release <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Acti<strong>on</strong> Plan. For <strong>the</strong> fourth c<strong>on</strong>secutive year, Ch<strong>in</strong>ese <strong>of</strong>ficials preventedCh<strong>in</strong>ese human rights activists from leav<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> country to attend a tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g program <strong>on</strong>UN human rights mechanisms organized by <strong>the</strong> Internati<strong>on</strong>al Service for <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong>(ISHR), a Geneva-based organizati<strong>on</strong>.In <strong>the</strong> fall <strong>of</strong> 2009, journalist Wang Keq<strong>in</strong> ( ) and rights activists Chen Wei ( )and Xie Qiang ( ) all separately encountered <strong>of</strong>ficial <strong>in</strong>terference as <strong>the</strong>y prepared toleave <strong>the</strong> country for <strong>the</strong> ISHR program. Mr. Wang, a renowned <strong>in</strong>vestigative reporterand scholar, was pressured to aband<strong>on</strong> his plan to apply for a visa by <strong>of</strong>ficials at hisnewspaper, <strong>the</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a Ec<strong>on</strong>omic Times. Mr. Chen, a rights activist from Su<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g City,Sichuan Prov<strong>in</strong>ce, was called <strong>in</strong> for “chats” by local Nati<strong>on</strong>al Security police and toldthat, as his pers<strong>on</strong>al <strong>in</strong>formati<strong>on</strong> had already been transmitted to border patrol <strong>of</strong>ficials,he would be unable to leave <strong>the</strong> country at any border cross<strong>in</strong>g. He was <strong>the</strong>n placed undersurveillance by local police to ensure he did not attempt to leave Su<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g. F<strong>in</strong>ally, Mr.Xie, a digital activist from Hunan Prov<strong>in</strong>ce liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Beij<strong>in</strong>g, was seized at his home bypolice <strong>the</strong> night before he was due to depart for Geneva, deta<strong>in</strong>ed overnight <strong>in</strong> Beij<strong>in</strong>g,<strong>the</strong>n forcibly returned to his hometown <strong>in</strong> Hunan <strong>the</strong> next day and placed under “s<strong>of</strong>t王 强 谢 卫 陈 勤 克detenti<strong>on</strong>.”Not <strong>on</strong>ly did <strong>the</strong> government ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> restricti<strong>on</strong>s <strong>on</strong> human rights defenders leav<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>country to participate <strong>in</strong> human rights-related tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> past year, it also c<strong>on</strong>t<strong>in</strong>ued toharass and disrupt domestic human rights tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>gs organized by civil society members.The Guizhou <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> Forum, a loose circle <strong>of</strong> local activists who meet to discusshuman rights and distribute educati<strong>on</strong>al materials <strong>in</strong> and around Guiyang City, have foryears been <strong>the</strong> target <strong>of</strong> police harassment. A particular focal po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir activitiescomes every December, as members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> group ga<strong>the</strong>r to distribute copies <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>Universal Declarati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> (UDHR) <strong>on</strong> Universal <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> Day. In2008, for <strong>the</strong> 60 th anniversary <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> UDHR, <strong>the</strong> group organized a citizen forum <strong>on</strong>human rights. Police told <strong>the</strong> group this ga<strong>the</strong>r<strong>in</strong>g was “illegal;” <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> days before <strong>the</strong>scheduled ga<strong>the</strong>r<strong>in</strong>g, police deta<strong>in</strong>ed organizers Chen Xi ( Shen Younian (and Du Hep<strong>in</strong>g ( and prevented <strong>the</strong> event from tak<strong>in</strong>g place. 121 杜 申 陈One year later, follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> government’s proclamati<strong>on</strong>s about its dedicati<strong>on</strong> to humanrights educati<strong>on</strong>, members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Guizhou <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> Forum <strong>on</strong>ce aga<strong>in</strong> plannedactivities to mark Universal <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> Day. Chen Xi was summ<strong>on</strong>ed and brieflydeta<strong>in</strong>ed by police three times <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> week lead<strong>in</strong>g up to <strong>the</strong> anniversary, and <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong>33西 ),) 年 有) 平 和