WASHINGTON, D.C.—New hopes were expressed at a hearing, Jan. 27, on Capitol Hill, among several Congress members and China experts that the Obama administration will be more forthcoming than the Bush administration in holding China accountable for its unacceptable human rights record.
Congressman Frank Wolf, Co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) that sponsored the hearing held Jan. 27 on Capitol Hill, articulated his great disappointment in the Bush administration and with Secretary Paulson in its handling of China. Wolf, a Republican from Virginia, said his own Party’s leadership failed to address the China human rights policies adequately and hoped that President Obama would do much better.
One of the purposes of this hearing was to discuss the upcoming review on Feb. 9 of China by the United Nations Periodic Review (UPR). For three hours, starting at 9:00 a.m., China will be questioned concerning its human rights record and will have to listen to recommendations for improvements, and answer whether each recommendation is accepted or not.
Attending the House hearing was a panel of representatives from various human rights NGOs, including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders, who discussed the current status of human rights in China and why it was important for the U.S. to play a leading role in influencing the UN review.
“This will be the first substantive review of China in an intergovernmental United Nations setting in years,” said Felice Gaer, from the American Jewish Committee and is currently Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Gaer explained that it will be the first time that governments can ask questions on a country’s human rights record and receive answers from the country reviewed. Summary reports will appear on the UN website.
China is not alone in this 4th round of U.N. Human Rights’ Council of critiques. Sixteen other countries, several of whom also have less than stellar human rights records, will come under scrutiny during the two week period, including Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Russian Federation, and Azerbaijan.
“The U.N. has seen nothing like this before,” said Gaer. “The idea that there is no protection from scrutiny is an important one,” Gaer said.
“A global human rights review is now being conducted for the first time in UN history,” said T. Kumar, from Amnesty International. The success of the China review “will set the tone for all future UPR reviews,” by setting a precedent that other powerful countries will need to respect, he said.
All 192 countries in the world will be monitored every four years—48 each year in three sessions of two week length. 2009 marks the second year since the reviews began, and February, the 4th cycle.
Congressman Wolf Wants an Aggressive China Ambassador
“The Bush administration did not do a very good job,” began Congressman Wolf regarding human rights in China, “And, I have said publicly, as a Republican, that that was the case.” Wolf added, “[Treasury Secretary] Paulson was very weak.” He hoped that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner would not respond as lamely as Paulson did.
