中国的普遍定期审议成绩单:根据各国政府在联合国对维吾尔人所受之暴行的反应进行评级
2024年02月08日
由维吾尔人权项目(UHRP)研究与倡议副主任彼得. 埃尔文(Peter Irwin)撰写的观点洞见专栏
「继续实施知识更新项目和技能升级举措。」(布吉纳法索 Burkina Faso)
「继续结合中国实情,分享研究成果和经验。」(辛巴威 Zimbabwe)
「积极参与国际人权规范的制定。」(南苏丹 South Sudan)
如果你被要求就政府如何改善其人权记录提出建议,你肯定不会如此开场——而且你也无法理解这些陈述到底是在说什么。
但这就是重点。
上个月,中国在联合国接受了一项重大人权审查——普遍定期审议(UPR)——在这个审查中,每个成员国有45秒(!)的时间提出尽量多(或尽量少)的建议 。
维吾尔人权项目(UHRP)已提交资料供2009年、2013年和2018年等上三届普遍定期审议来作为考量,并于2023年间在日内瓦与联合国成员国举行实地会议,为01月23日的审查 作准备。 我们于2023年提交的资料内容涵盖了广泛的议题并借鉴了UHRP自2018年以来的原创研究。
[向下滚动查看维吾尔人权项目「中国普遍定期审议成绩单」,就联合国成员国就维吾尔议题向中国提出的正式建议进行评级]
在某些方面,这个过程已经转变为一种表演。 中国以措辞不温不火的「建议」为幌子,召集盟友们对其人权记录大加赞扬宣传。
当土库曼(Turkmenistan)建议中国「持续实施确保人权的国家方案和计划」,或者当利比亚(Libya)建议中国「继续成功地消除贫困」时,我们该怎么办? 这种机制如何真正发挥作用呢?
答案是,许多政府故意选择措辞含糊的建议,以确保它们不会激怒中国政府或避免对其自身记录遭到批评。 这个过程常常暴露出一种外交游戏,即优先考虑政治姿态而不是实质变革。
审查前的报导显示,中国一直在进行广泛的游说,以确保不会出现意外。 一份来自中国政府的外交照会写道:「我恳请贵国代表团在互动对话中向中国提供宝贵支持,并提出建设性建议[…],考虑到我们两国之间的友好关系与合作。 」
但另一方面,数十个成员国选择不为政府唱赞歌,而是趁机提出清晰、简洁、可实现的建议。
「落实人权高专办关于新疆的报告中所提到,以及其他联合国条约机构提出的所有建议。」(德国 Germany)
「积极回应尚未解决的特别程序的访问请求,包括访问西藏和新疆,特别是那些致力于奴隶制、反恐、宗教或信仰、商业和人权问题的特别程序。」(比利时 Belgium)
「停止破坏维吾尔文化遗产,并澄清拆除或损坏宗教场所以及联合国教科文组织列出的维吾尔、哈萨克和吉尔吉斯文化项目等行为。」(奥地利 Austria)
这还差不多。
尽管许多政府在审查期间没有发挥建设性作用,但其他政府却借此机会强化并集中关注联合国独立机构已经说过的话。
普遍定期审议与维吾尔人
11个国家的政府明确提到了人权事务高级专员办公室2022年的评估,其中包括向中国政府提出的十几项建议。 10个政府强调了自2018年以来在多项条约机构审查中已提出的建议。
包括秘鲁(Peru)、巴拉圭(Paraguay)、墨西哥(Mexico)、阿根廷(Argentina)和巴哈马(The Bahamas)在内的一些国家政府建议中国考虑或接受联合国专家的访问。 正如UHRP在普遍定期审议之前作为利益攸关方提交的材料中指出的,尽管声称寻求与联合国机制和特别程序任务负责人的「合作」,但自2018年来中国仅在非常选择性的基础上允许 极少数专家进入。
来自「西欧和其他国家」(Western European and other States, WEOG)区域集团的许多政府提到了许多问题,包括对人权捍卫者的报复和拘留、宗教镇压、文化权利、妇女权利、强迫失踪和强迫劳动 等。
以下是其他一些亮点:
- 墨西哥和厄瓜多(Ecuador)提出了与工商业和人权有关的建议
- 伊拉克(Iraq)建议中国保护古物和文化遗产——这可能是对中国大规模破坏维吾尔文化遗产的间接提及
- 哥斯大黎加(Costa Rica)建议中国就面部识别系统和网路警务中生物识别数据的使用「建立规范」
- 智利(Chile)、墨西哥和冰岛(Iceland)提出了有关妇女生殖权利的建议,这可能是对维吾尔地区强制绝育和出生率迅速下降的广泛报道之认可
- 蒙古国(Mongolia)向中国保护和促进文化多样性提出建议
- 尽管措辞软弱且含糊,印尼(Indonesia)呼吁中国「加强对所有人宗教或信仰自由的保护」
维吾尔人需要成员国提供什么
UHRP和维吾尔倡议者们期望并要求各国政府在参与联合国人权事务时履行其义务。 联合国独立人权专家一致认为中国在东突厥斯坦执行「系统性人权侵犯」。 上个月提出建议的每个政府都明白这一点,但许多政府选择了阻力最小的道路,而不是真正尝试鼓励迫切需要的变革。
如果该系统只是单纯地再现这些试图掩盖明显侵权行为的国家政府叙述,那么普遍定期审议的程序本身就有可能实现并成为前联合国秘书长科菲. 安南(Kofi Annan)对人权委员会(该机构被现任人权理事会所取代)的担忧。
在委员会被取代的前一年,安南表示:「各国寻求加入委员会并不是为了加强人权,而是为了保护自己免受批评或批评他人。结果,这样的性统出现了信誉赤字,给整个联合国机构 的声誉蒙上了阴影。」
正如我们下面详细介绍的,一些国家试图真诚地参与该体系,但太多国家正在朝着安南近20年前所担心的方向那般发展。
Below is a table collating all recommendations1The section on counterproductive recommendations excludes those that indirectly address issues faced by Uyghurs, but are framed in a way that negates the existence of a problem (i.e. language that recommends China to “continue to…” take certain actions, which falsely suggests that steps have already been taken).made by member states relating directly or indirectly to Uyghurs during China’s 4th Cycle Universal Periodic Review at the UN in Geneva on January 23, 2024.
China UPR Report Card: Recommendations Addressing Atrocities Against Uyghurs | |||
Theme | Member State | Recommendation | Quality |
OHCHR assessment | Switzerland | Implement the recommendations of the 2022 OHCHR report on Xinjiang and investigate the extent of arbitrary detentions that may constitute crimes against humanity | Strong |
OHCHR assessment | Australia | Repeal legislation and cease practices which discriminate against Tibetans and Uyghurs on the basis of race or religion; cease arbitrary detention, coercive labour transfer and family separation programs; and end restrictions on movement and on rights to enjoy their own culture and language, consistent with the OHCHR and other treaty body reports on Xinjiang and Tibet | Strong |
OHCHR assessment | New Zealand | Implement recommendations from the 2022 OHCHR assessment of human rights concerns in Xinjiang | Strong |
OHCHR assessment | Netherlands | Implement immediately all recommendations on Xinjiang of the OHCHR assessment report and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women reviews | Strong |
OHCHR assessment | Liechtenstein | Implement the recommendations of the OHCHR’s assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region | Strong |
OHCHR assessment | Germany | Implement all recommendations of the OHCHR report on Xinjiang and of UN treaty bodies | Strong |
OHCHR assessment | Denmark | Immediately implement the recommendations from the OHCHR assessment on Xinjiang | Strong |
OHCHR assessment | United Kingdom | Cease the persecution and arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and Tibetans, and allow genuine freedom of religion or belief and cultural expression without fear of surveillance, torture, forced labour, or sexual violence, and implement OHCHR recommendations on Xinjiang | Strong |
OHCHR assessment | Luxembourg | Implement the recommendations of the report of the Office of the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Xinjiang | Strong |
Treaty Body recommendations | New Zealand | Implement the 2023 recommendations by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion by ethnic and religious minorities including ethnic Uyghurs and Tibetans | Strong |
Cooperation | Estonia | Cooperate fully with all human rights treaty bodies and implement their recommendations | Somewhat strong |
Cooperation | Ukraine | Cooperate fully with the United Nations human rights mechanisms | Ambiguous |
Cooperation/access | Bahamas | Consider extending a standing invitation to all thematic special procedures of the Human Rights Council | Somewhat strong |
Cooperation/access | Argentina | Continue collaborating with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and allow more visits and technical exchanges, in order to facilitate the implementation of recommendations made by OHCHR, treaty bodies, special procedures, and the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review | Ambiguous |
Access | Canada | Grant the UN, including the OHCHR and special procedures, full and unfettered access to all regions of China, including Tibet and Xinjiang | Strong |
Access | Luxembourg | Extend a standing invitation to the special procedures of the Human Rights Council | Strong |
Access | Mexico | Consider accepting requests for visits from special procedures, and provide them with access and information in accordance with the Terms of Reference | Somewhat strong |
Access | Latvia | Respond positively to pending visit requests by the special procedures mandate holders of the Human Rights Council | Somewhat strong |
Access | Paraguay | Accept requests for visits from special procedures and consider issuing an open and standing invitation | Somewhat strong |
Access | Norway | Allow unhindered access to UN special rapporteurs and independent experts to evaluate persistent reports of violations of human rights in China, including in Xinjiang and Tibet | Strong |
Access | Finland | Invite the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief to visit China, including Xinjiang | Strong |
Access | Estonia | Cooperate fully with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Special Procedures mandate holders and ensure their unrestricted access to all regions of China | Strong |
Access | United States | Permit the UN unhindered and meaningful access particularly in Xinjiang and Tibet | Strong |
Access | Poland | Grant the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the special procedures full access to all regions of China | Strong |
Access | Belgium | Respond positively to outstanding requests for visits of special procedures, including to Tibet and Xinjiang, in particular those working on slavery, counterterrorism, religion or belief, and business and human rights | Strong |
Forced labor | France | Report on the implementation of ILO fundamental Conventions 29 and 105 on forced labour | Somewhat strong |
Forced labor | Germany | Abolish all coercive practices in labour transfer programs and boarding schools | Somewhat strong |
Discrimination | Romania | Take immediate measures aiming at combating discrimination on any grounds for all citizens of China, including for persons belonging to religious and ethnic minorities | Somewhat strong |
Discrimination | United States | Cease discrimination against individuals’ culture, language, religion or belief, end forcible assimilation policies, including boarding schools, in Tibet and Xinjiang | Somewhat strong |
Discrimination | Montenegro | Review the legal framework on national security, counterterrorism and minority rights in Xinjiang, and repeal discriminatory laws and policies against Uyghur and other ethno-religious minorities | Strong |
Discrimination | Marshall Islands | Implement the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recommending to immediately stop reprisals against human rights defenders, journalists, and individuals belonging to minority groups | Somewhat strong |
Discrimination | Turkmenistan | Pursue efforts aimed at promoting rights of children, women, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities | Somewhat weak |
Discrimination | Croatia | Adopt effective legislative measures to eliminate discriminatory acts against ethnic minorities | Ambiguous |
Discrimination | Italy | Take effective measures to prevent any form of discrimination against ethnic and religious groups and minorities | Ambiguous |
Discrimination | Malta | Recognize all ethnic groups in the country on an equal basis as recommended by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination | Ambiguous |
Discrimination | Bahrain | Improve further measures to reduce inequalities and discrimination against minorities and migrants | Weak |
Legal framework | United States | Repeal vague national security, counter-espionage, counter-terrorism, and sedition laws, including the National Security Law in Hong Kong | Strong |
Legal framework | Japan | Guarantee transparent legal procedures, including fair trials, access to legal representatives of defendants’ choosing, and prompt notifications to families | Strong |
Cultural rights | Czechia | End the criminalization of religious and peaceful civil expression by ethnic and ethno-religious groups, including Muslim Uyghurs and Buddhist Tibetans and Mongolians, under the pretext of protecting state security | Strong |
Cultural rights | Lithuania | Ensure that children in all regions, including Tibetan children, are guaranteed the right to use their language in every aspect of their schooling | Somewhat strong |
Cultural rights | Austria | Repeal policies to forcibly assimilate Tibetan and Uyghur people culturally, religiously and linguistically, abolish Chinese-language boarding school systems for Tibetan and Uyghur pupils and ensure their right to education without discrimination, family life and cultural rights | Strong |
Cultural rights | Denmark | Abolish immediately coerced residential school systems imposed on Tibetan children and ensure that persons belonging to minorities can fully enjoy their cultural rights and use their own language | Strong |
Cultural rights | Greece | Ensure further the full and unrestricted enjoyment by minorities of their cultural rights and their right to education, as well as protect their cultural diversity, practices and heritage, in implementation of relevant Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women concluding observations | Somewhat strong |
Cultural rights | Iraq | Make more efforts to protect antiquities and cultural heritage | Somewhat strong |
Cultural rights | Mongolia | Take necessary measures to protect and promote cultural diversity | Ambiguous |
Cultural rights | Peru | Strengthen efforts to guarantee cultural diversity and promote the full enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights | Ambiguous |
Cultural rights | Gambia | Reinforce the safeguarding of ethnic and religious minorities’ rights by promoting the preservation of cultural identities | Somewhat weak |
Cultural rights | Japan | Protect the rights of minorities, including the Tibetans and Uighurs, including their rights to enjoy their cultural and religious practices as recommended by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights | Somewhat strong |
Cultural rights | Paraguay | Take into account the recommendations of Treaty bodies to respect the civil, political, economic, social and cultural human rights of people belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities in its territory | Somewhat strong |
Cultural rights | Austria | Cease the destruction of Uyghur cultural heritage and clarify the demolition or damaging of religious sites, as well as Uyghur, Kazakh and Kyrgyz UNESCO listed cultural items | Strong |
Business and human rights | Ecuador | Promote the necessary measures to ensure that companies and financial institutions operating in its territory and abroad respect human rights in all their business activities | Somewhat strong |
Business and human rights | Peru | Continue developing measures to ensure that the foreign activities of companies subject to its jurisdiction do not undermine, but promote the enjoyment of human rights | Ambiguous |
Economic rights | Mexico | Implement the recommendations on business and human rights issued by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to China | Somewhat strong |
Religious freedom | Indonesia | Strengthen the protection of freedom of religion or belief for all people and ensure its effective implementation on the ground | Ambiguous |
Religious freedom | France | Guarantee the protection of freedom of religion, particularly for Uyghur and Tibetan people | Strong |
Reprisals | Estonia | Enable all members of civil society to freely engage with international human rights mechanisms without fear of intimidation and reprisals | Strong |
Reprisals | Costa Rica | Remove excessive restrictions on the functioning of independent NGOs | Somewhat strong |
Reprisals | United States | Cease harassment, surveillance, and threats against individuals abroad and in China, including Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong | Strong |
Reprisals | Lithuania | Prevent attempts to interpret national security laws as a justification to target human rights defenders, journalists, and other media workers outside the country | Strong |
Reprisals | Germany | Cease all reprisals against human rights defenders and civil society organizations | Strong |
Reprisals | Greece | Take measures to prevent the harassment, intimidation and targeting of civil society members, journalists, human rights defenders and lawyers | Somewhat strong |
Reprisals | United Kingdom | Cease the restriction of civil society and independent media, end forced repatriations, and stop targeting human rights defenders | Strong |
Expression/reprisals | Liechtenstein | Ensure that human rights defenders, journalists, and lawyers, including in Hong Kong, are not targeted for exercising their freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly in line with international human rights law | Somewhat strong |
Privacy | Czechia | End violating the freedoms and privacy of Chinese citizens via online censorship and surveillance | Strong |
Privacy | Montenegro | Ensure that mass surveillance, both online and offline, does not infringe on fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals | Somewhat strong |
Privacy | Tunisia | Pursue efforts to protect personal information and to protect the human dignity of citizens | Somewhat weak |
Privacy | Costa Rica | Establish norms based on international human rights standards on the use of personal biometric data for facial recognition systems and cyber policing systems | Somewhat strong |
Women | Chile | Strengthen safeguards and protocols so that no woman is subjected to contraceptive interventions without her free and informed consent | Somewhat strong |
Women | Iceland | End violations of reproductive rights and coercive enforcement of family planning policies, including those in Xinjiang | Strong |
Women | Marshall Islands | Implement the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by putting an end to sexual and gender-based violence against women of ethnic minorities and allowing full enjoyment of their cultural rights and right to education | Somewhat strong |
Expression | Estonia | Enable unrestricted use of the Internet by ensuring the safe flow of information without violating the freedom of opinion and expression | Strong |
Expression | Germany | Revoke all laws restricting freedoms of expression and assembly | Strong |
Expression | Italy | Guarantee freedom of opinion and expression, enhancing efforts to create an environment in which journalists, human rights defenders and NGOs can freely operate in accordance with international standards, removing obstacles to their access to information, mobility and interaction with civil society | Ambiguous |
Expression | Latvia | Cease the regulatory and judicial persecution of human rights defenders and journalists for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly | Somewhat strong |
Expression | Lithuania | Guarantee the right of all citizens to opinion and expression without fear of reprisals and censorship in all regions, including Hong Kong, Tibet, and others | Strong |
Expression | Netherlands | End online censorship and end intimidation and surveillance of media workers and journalists, including in Hong Kong | Strong |
Expression | Norway | Allow freedom of expression in all its forms, as mandated by international human rights law and standards | Strong |
Expression | Poland | Respect the rights to freedom of religion or belief, opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and culture, including for Tibetans, Uighurs and other minorities | Strong |
Expression | Romania | Take immediate measures aiming at ensuring freedom of association and expression, and create a safe environment for journalists and other media workers | Strong |
Expression | Spain | Comply with international standards and recommendations on freedom of thought, conscience and religion; and on freedom of expression and freedom of the press | Somewhat strong |
Expression | Sweden | Take urgent steps to ensure that all persons, including human rights defenders, journalists, persons belonging to LGBTIQ communities, and advocates for women’s enjoyment of human rights can fully exercise their freedom of expression and information | Strong |
Enforced disappearance/arbitrary detention | Canada | End all forms of enforced disappearance targeting human rights defenders, ethnic minorities, and Falun Gong practitioners | Strong |
Enforced disappearance/arbitrary detention | Germany | Release all human rights defenders from arbitrary detention | Strong |
Enforced disappearance/arbitrary detention | United States | Release all arbitrarily detained individuals, many of whom were named by the UN Working Group | Strong |
Enforced disappearance/arbitrary detention | Ireland | Immediately release all arbitrarily detained human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society activists | Strong |
Enforced disappearance/arbitrary detention | Montenegro | Investigate effectively allegations of human rights violations in camps and other detention facilities, including torture, sexual violence, forced labour and other mistreatment | Strong |
Enforced disappearance/arbitrary detention | Sweden | Abolish or reform the use of residential surveillance at a designated location and other forms of extrajudicial detention to ensure compliance with international human rights law | Strong |
Enforced disappearance/arbitrary detention | Australia | Repeal provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law allowing detention under Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location and end enforced disappearances, consistent with the Committee against Torture recommendation | Strong |
Enforced disappearance/arbitrary detention | Denmark | Release writers, bloggers, journalists, human rights defenders and others arbitrarily detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and guarantee this right, including in Hong Kong | Strong |
General | United States | End forced labour, marriage, birth control, sterilization, abortion, and family separation in Xinjiang | Strong |
General | United States | End torture, unjust residential detention, and persecution throughout China | Strong |
General | Estonia | Respect and ensure the rights of persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, in particular in Xinjiang and Tibet | Strong |
General | Germany | Respect the right of persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, including in Xinjiang and Tibet | Somewhat strong |
General | Sweden | Take urgent steps to fully respect the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, especially in Xinjiang and Tibet | Strong |
General | Israel | Take practical steps to improve the human rights situation in Xinjiang | Ambiguous |
The recommendations below include language directly or indirectly referring to Uyghurs, but with the clear intention of supporting the Chinese government’s policies—we have included these recommendations for the sake of completeness. | |||
Labor | Zimbabwe | Continue to provide employment support and assistance to all categories of workers without discrimination, effectively advance the reform of the training of industrial workers, and smoothen the career development channels of employees through continuous education and improvement of their technical skills | Counterproductive |
Cultural rights | Iran | Continue to protect the cultural rights of ethnic minorities, and increase support for the development of ethnic minority areas | Counterproductive |
Cultural rights | Pakistan | Intensify further international cultural and religious exchanges, especially through more visits to Xinjiang and Tibet | Counterproductive |
Development | Venezuela | Continue to coordinate the work of maintaining stability and promoting the development of Xinjiang | Counterproductive |
Religious freedom | Belarus | Continue to manage Xizang’s religious affairs according with the legislation of the People’s Republic of China and with respect to religious traditions, promote the enhancement of the temple management and continue to provide financial and other support to temples and places of pilgrimage | Counterproductive |
Unclear | Eritrea | Continue to uphold the regional ethnic autonomy system and comprehensively promote ethnic unity and progress | Counterproductive |
Cultural rights | Kyrgyzstan | Continue to protect the right of minority ethnic groups to participate as equals in administering state and social affairs, protect the cultural rights of ethnic minorities, and increase support for the development of ethnic minority areas | Counterproductive |
Language rights | Russia | Improve gradually people’s sense and ability of using standard spoken and written Chinese language in Xinjiang | Counterproductive |