Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China ...

<strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China (2009)April 26, 2010Scope and structureAbout this <strong>Report</strong>This report examines the extent to which the Chinese government has or has not fulfilledits obligations to protect the rights of human rights defenders, which are guaranteed in theDeclaration on Human Rights Defenders 1 (hereafter referred to as “the Declaration”),adopted by the United Nations in 1998. According to the Declaration, human rightsdefenders are defined as “individuals, groups and associations… contributing to…theeffective elimination of all violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms ofpeoples and individuals.” The same definition will be used for the purposes of this report.The Declaration provides for the protection of a number of rights key to individualsdefending human rights, which can be grouped into five broad categories:• The rights to promote and seek the protection of human rights and to be protected forexercising this right (Articles 1, 11 and 12);• The rights to freedom of assembly and association, which include the rights to carryout human rights work together with others; to form, join and participate in NGOs;and to solicit and receive resources for human rights activities (Articles 5 and 13);• The rights to freedom of expression and access to information, which include therights to seek and disseminate information about human rights, discuss the extent towhich the government has promoted these rights, and draw public attention to humanrights issues (Articles 6 and 7);• The right to participate in the government and in the conduct of public affairs, whichincludes the right to submit criticisms and proposals for improvement to governmentagencies (Article 8); and• The right to complain to the government regarding human rights violations, toprovide legal assistance in defense of human rights, to attend public hearings, to beprovided with an effective remedy, and to have free access to NGOs andintergovernmental organizations (Article 9).Although these rights are already enshrined in international human rights treaties andcore documents, the Declaration articulates them in ways that make them more tailored tothe work of defending human rights. In addition to protecting these rights, the state hasthe responsibility to promote and educate the public about human rights, which includesthe establishment of national human rights institutions, and to promote human rightseducation in formal education (Articles 14 and 15).Part I addresses the status of these five rights in detail. It concludes that 2009 was yetanother year in which the Chinese government failed to make any concrete improvementsto promote or protect these rights, and that the situation was worse in 2009 than it was in2008. Part II discusses the myriad ways in which the government retaliated againstindividuals seeking to promote human rights.5