An Important Follow-up to China's Obligations to Implement Convention against Torture

Chinese human rights activists tend to focus on urging the Chinese government to sign or ratify international human rights treaties, but the more demanding work lies in follow-up with the government's implementation of its treaty obligations. International human rights groups have done some good work in this front. But the participation in UN human rights activities by Chinese or China-based NGOs is a key to the UN system's success. It is in light of these observations, the work of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), a China-based and international NGO, in trying to bridge some gaps deserves noticing.

CHRD has involved Chinese activists in some follow-up work with regard to the UN Convention against Torture, which China ratified some 22 years ago! CHRD just puts out a press release saying that “With China’s fifth periodic report to the Committee against Torture (CAT) upcoming, many key problems raised by CAT in 2008 as it considered China’s fourth periodic report have yet to be adequately addressed.” The organization produced a report, by working together with local activists, and sent it to CAT recently. The report “outlines a number of issues and cases for the Committee to include in the List of Issues that the Chinese government will be requested to address in its next report.” (http://chrdnet.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Issues-and-Cases-CHRD-Recommends-CAT-Include-in-its-LOI-for-China.pdf)

“The Chinese government plays up its participation with the UN human rights regime for public relations purposes, yet it continues to ignore or actively challenge recommendations made by the Committee against Torture,” said Renee Xia, CHRD’s International Director. “Meanwhile, torture remains a serious problem across China, and some of the issues raised by CAT in 2008, such as unnatural deaths in detention and the harassment of human rights defenders, have worsened.”
CAT is doing something new, before a government submits a periodic report, the Committee is to present that government a “list of issues” (LOI), which will require information formt eh government on specific, follow-up issues that have previously concerned CAT. Before, the CAT only sent governments LOI after they have submitted their reports. (For information on the Committee against Torture’s working methods:http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/workingmethods.htm)

Thus, while the Chinese government is due to submit its fifth periodic report to CAT in November 2012, the Committee will present China with a LOI. To prepare CAT with an informative LOI, NGOs and civil society groups should provide information while CAT is preparing the LOI for China.
CHRD’s submission to CAT for this purpose “highlights a number of problems previously identified by CAT, providing updated information on recent developments and calling for continued pressure for positive change in these areas.”
Here are some substantive issues that CHRD has highlighted for CAT to ask the Chinese government to address:

1. The use of torture to extract confessions. The Chinese government promulgated in summer 2010 regulations banning evidence obtained through torture in criminal trials. That was more an indication of the prevalence of this problem than a sign of progress! CHRD points out that “these regulations contain problematic language and stresses that their true value will be determined only by their implementation.” One case CHRD brought to the attention of CAT is that of Fan Qihang, whose death sentence based on a confession extracted through torture is currently being reviewed by the Supreme People’s Court. If China’s highest court fails to ask the lower court to throw out evidence extracted by torture, Fan is likely to be executed within days of the highest court’s ruling. (http://chrdnet.org/2010/08/03/chinas-highest-court-must-overturn-death-sentence-based-on-confession-extracted-by-torture/)
2. The ongoing pattern of harassment and abuse of human rights lawyers, human rights defenders, and petitioners. Most people probably don’t consider this issue a matter of CAT’s concern. But it is. CAT raised this concern prominently in its November 2008 Concluding Observations and Recommendations after it reviewed China’s state report. (China’s fourth periodic state report to CAT, submitted February 14, 2006, and related documents, including CAT’s Concluding Observations, adopted November 21, 2008: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/cats41.htm) CHRD finds that the government “failed to take any concrete steps in the past two years to better protect the rights or personal safety” of human rights defenders.
3. Other problems such as “unnatural deaths in detention centers, arbitrary detention in Re-education through Labor camps, and illegal detention in black jails and psychiatric institutions, as well as abuses in these facilities”. CHRD points out that the government has been either unable or unwilling to effectively address these problems that CAT raised concerns about in its 2008 review.