Human rights fight

Date: 15/03/01

EU FOREIGN ministers will back a United Nations' resolution condemning China's human rights record next week amid hopes that the motion can overcome Beijing's efforts to block it.

In one of the first signs that the Union is cooperating with the Bush administration on foreign policy concerns, ministers will support a US-sponsored motion criticising China's failure to respect human rights standards.

The measure is due to be debated by the United Nations Commission for Human Rights in Geneva next week.

But the EU will not officially join the US in sponsoring the resolution, as requested by Secretary of State Colin Powell when he met Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten last month.

Instead the Union will actively lobby other UN members in an effort to block Chinese attempts to kill the US resolution.

Civil rights campaigners criticised the EU's refusal to sponsor the motion. "We believe it's the wrong decision," said Lotte Leicht of Human Rights Watch.

"We haven't seen significant moves [by the Chinese] to meet the EU's basic requirements such as knowing the number of people sentenced to death. There has also been a tremendous increase in prosecutions in China of religious groups and members of the pro-democracy party. This has to be taken into account."

Lindh will travel to Geneva next Tuesday to declare the EU's support for the motion. In previous years the EU has backed the US position but the resolution has been always blocked by Beijing.

EU foreign ministers will back a United Nations resolution condemning China's human rights record amid hopes that the motion can overcome Beijing's efforts to block it.