22 October 2013
UN criticises China’s rights record at Geneva meeting
The UN human rights council has criticised China during an official review of its human rights record.
Many members of the council expressed concern at the arrest of dissidents, the continued use of the death penalty and the use of torture in prison.
But Chinese officials said major progress had been made in improving social and economic rights.
They said people had better access to healthcare and education, and incomes had risen across the country.
But Julie de Rivero, of Human Rights Watch, told the BBC that China’s focus on economic progress was a way of avoiding the real issues.
“The question is why does does China continue to torture people in prisons and why is it systematic? Why do they not allow human rights defenders to raise questions that party members are even raising, about corruption? When it comes from the mouth of a human rights defender it earns them a place in prison,” she said.
Students for a Free Tibet banner Activists from Students for a Free Tibet defied security to display a banner on scaffolding in front of the of the European headquarters of the United Nations
All UN member states undergo the review by the UN once every four years.
In 2009 it was recommended that China make improvements in reducing poverty and support the rights of ethnic minorities.
Human rights groups say China has failed to address these and other issues.
Ahead of proceedings on Tuesday, at least three Tibet activists scaled scaffolding at the UN headquarters in Geneva, with a banner saying: “China human rights – UN stand up on Tibet”.
A Chinese government white paper released on Tuesday said that Beijing had no intention of altering its “correct” policies in Tibet as they had brought “unprecedented achievements”.
Activists missing
Members of the UN panel also expressed concern about the treatment of a number of Chinese human rights activists in recent weeks.
A BBC correspondent says several have been arrested or banned from travelling in a bid to prevent them testifying in Geneva.
On Monday, a wealthy Chinese businessman, Wang Gongquan, was formally arrested on suspicion of “gathering crowds to disturb public order”.
Mr Wang is considered a key supporter of a group of activists pushing for more official transparency, New Citizens Movement, which has been targeted in a crackdown this year.
Human Rights Watch has also expressed concern about a well-known legal rights activist who recently disappeared after being questioned by Beijing airport police.
The group says Cao Shunli has not been seen since 14 September, when she was barred from boarding a flight to Switzerland to attend a UN human rights training course.
A number of bloggers and journalists have also been detained over alleged “rumour-mongering”, and high-profile micro-bloggers targeted.
The UN panel – with a rotating membership of 47 states that does not currently include China – has no binding powers.
The UN is expected to deliver a report on China later this week.

Statement by the Tibetan National Congress on Hu Jintao’s indictment
October 16th, 2013
In a rare moment of sunshine in these dark days, with Tibet deeply immersed in the heart-wrenching images of the self-immolations spurred on by the brutal Chinese occupation, and the exile Tibetans anguished in our inability to assist them, the Spanish National Court provided a great moment of triumph and indicted Hu Jintao for the crime of Genocide against the people and the country of Tibet.
There was tremendous pressure asserted on the small group of people working on this lawsuit, from both within the country of Spain and from international forces to either abandon this venture altogether or to throw the case out of court on technicalities. But they persisted against overwhelming odds and pulled off one of the biggest triumphs in recent international legal history. This victory in the Spanish National Court proves that there are some courts in the civilized world which refuse to be intimidated or stand aside while innocents are oppressed.
This victory did not come overnight. This has been a lonely fight for almost twenty years carried on by CAT (Comité de Apoyo al Tíbet). One staunch advocate for this lawsuit, Claude B. Levenson has even passed away, sadly unable to witness this tremendous legal victory. In the words of Professor José Elías Esteve Moltó of CAT, “We wish to dedicate this judicial success not only to the victims, but also to the thousands of ‘freedom fighters’ and to the memory of all those who self-immolated in and outside Tibet, and those who risk their lives and their freedom in the face of the passivity of the international community whose silence is an accomplice to the genocide. Their sense of justice and their determination for truth is enshrined in this judicial battle that believes in these values in a nonviolent manner.”
And this is more than a symbolic victory by CAT and co-plaintiffs Ven. Thubten Wangchen and Fundacion Casa del Tíbet Barcelona. The judicial ruling recognizes that this genocide is against the “country” of Tibet. Hu Jintao and others indicted by the Spanish National Court can now be arrested and made to answer for their crimes if they set foot in Spain or the multitude of countries with extradition treaties with Spain. Even without their physical presence, the Spanish court can now try to preventively freeze their international assets. China is looking for validation and acceptance into the civilized world; it is a crushing blow to their pride when, because of the Chinese occupation of Tibet, their top officials are indicted for the worst crimes a human being can commit. Moreover, most leaders, however delusional they might be in reality, do care about their legacy and this sets a precedent where future strong-men in China will have to reconsider their actions. This is also etched in history, in legal terms, that they are international criminals and as such history will remember them in just and equitable terms.
The most imperative thing that came out of this victory is that this small group of dedicated citizens of Spain has taught us a lesson in courage and resilience; one must stand up and raise your voice against tyranny and oppression no matter the obstacles or the outcome. The victory is the simple act of standing up, refusing to accept crimes against humanity, and speaking out against those who perpetuate such horrendous crimes. It is also the act of seeking justice no matter the duration of the crime and acknowledging the pain and suffering of an entire people and nation. In the words of Alan Cantos of CAT, this success “proves that, even in the worst conditions, the truth surfaces. And the truth surfaces though a very meticulous and slow process of hammering with rigorous information, rigorous experts, rigorous witnesses, and just keep on feeding that truth into the courtroom, not just into the media and shelves.”
Tibetan National Congress wishes to thank all the amazing people involved in this project for their hard work and unrelenting pursuit of justice against all odds, and in particular Professor Esteve and Alan Cantos of CAT. We support their legal endeavor without any reservations.
Therefore, Tibetan National Congress hereby passes a resolution endorsing:
1.    the legal action against Hu Jintao and his cohorts in the Spanish National Court;
2.    the private member’s resolution in the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, Agenda to be Considered:
Document 37, sponsored by MP Dhardon Sharling and MP Atuk Tsetan on September 25th, 2013; and
3.    the call by DIIR Kalon Dicki Chhoyang on September 25th, 2013 for all Tibet Support Groups to pursue similar legal actions against the self-same international criminals in any and all national or international courts which abide by principles of universal jurisdiction.
On behalf of the people of Tibet, whose voices still remained trapped within walls of brick and iron, we thank the Spanish legal team for their labor of love for all of humanity. May the sun shine brightly once again in the Land of Snows, and may we all live to welcome His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama back to his land and his people, in an independent Tibet.
Bhod Gyalo!
Jigme Ugen
President

Spanish court indicts China’s ex-president Hu Jintao on genocide charges
Friday, 11 October, 2013 [Updated: 4:23PM]
Patrick Boehler patrick.boehler@scmp.com
Spain’s National Court has agreed to hear charges of genocide against former Chinese President Hu Jintao.
On Thursday, the court’s criminal division ruled in favour of an appeal by Tibetan exile groups allowing the indictment of Hu, a request which had been dismissed in June by the same court.
The court, which handles crimes against humanity and genocide, argued that the earlier decision had to be overturned because one of the plaintiffs, Thubten Wangchen, is a Spanish citizen and because China had not carried out its own investigation into the allegations.
“There’ll be some sort of diplomatic reaction,” said Nina Jorgensen, an associate professor at the Chinese Univeristy of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Law. “China has been very much against these proceedings.”
“But in all likelihood, not a lot will happen,” she cautioned. “The case brings attention to the issue and gives the victims at least an opportunity to bring attention to their claims.”
Spanish courts can hear cases of crimes against humanity wherever they occur outside its national territory on the legal principle of universal competence. In 2009, the universality was limited to cases in which Spanish citizens are victims of such crimes.
The court’s decision follows lengthy proceedings which started in 2008, when Tibetan activist groups, one of them headed by Wangchen, asked the court to hold seven Chinese state leaders, including former President Jiang Zemin and former Premier Li Peng, responsible for crimes against humanity allegedly committed by the Chinese government in Tibet. China denounced the trial proceedings.
Hu Jintao served as Communist Party Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region between 1988 and 1992, overseeing a crackdown on anti-Chinese riots in 1989.
The court “recognises that this genocide is against the country of Tibet and against the Tibetan nation, and the judges recognise that this indictment of Hu Jintao comes at the precise judicial moment ‘when his diplomatic immunity expires’”, the Madrid-based Comité de Apoyo al Tíbet, a plaintiff in the case, said in a statement.