China again cancels rights dialogue with EU/ENG

2011. december 25./Phayul.com/TibetPress

DHARAMSHALA, December 25: For the second year in a row, China has cancelled a planned human rights dialogue with the European Union without giving any prior reasons.

In a statement issued by the European Union Delegation to China on December 22, the EU “deeply regretted” the cancellation of the second session of the EU-China Dialogue on Human Rights for the year 2011.

“It (EU) is disappointed by the absence of an answer by the Chinese side to its proposals for dates in order to hold this session of the Dialogue before the end of the year,” the statement read.

Last year, China, furious over the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, had cancelled the dialogue.

As part of engagement efforts with China on human rights, EU launched the dialogue process in 1995, normally convened twice a year, alternating locations between the EU presidency capital and Beijing.

“This essential component of the relationship between two strategic partners offers an invaluable platform to discuss all issues of concern,” EU said in the statement. “It contributes to improve our mutual understanding”.

In a separate statement, the Head of the EU Delegation to China, Markus Ederer, added that the EU will continue to engage the Chinese side to enhance the quality and format of the Dialogue.

“The promotion of human rights is an important dimension of European foreign policy, as enshrined in the Treaty of the European Union,” the EU body said.

In the first installment of the Dialogue held earlier this year in Beijing, the EU expressed concerns over the implementation of international human rights standards in China and how to translate them into domestic practice.

“The two sides reviewed recent developments in human rights and had an in-depth discussion on the rights of minorities … The EU called on the Chinese authorities to provide full information on the fate and whereabouts of the persons who have disappeared from Kirti Monastery”, a statement by the EU at the end of the Dialogue read.

The release also noted extensive discussions on the exercise of freedom of religious belief and practice, the rule of law, freedom of the press, the protection of human rights lawyers and defenders, and the importance of an independent judiciary.