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CHAMBER REPORTS Human Rights in China Michael C. H. Jones, President |
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However this resulted from many
years of diplomatic friction, when Australia supported US resolutions at
Geneva condemning China's human rights record, all of which had an
undermining effect on trade and investment relations. I had previously met the Chinese
Premier in Canberra during his State visit in late 1988, and had numerous
meetings with Australian and Chinese Government leaders, and also Australian
Opposition representatives in Canberra during the early and mid 1990s, at
which the ACCCI Chief Representative ACT Greg Burns and I raised the issue of
how to deal with the human rights issue in a more constructive way. The then Shadow Minister for
Trade, Alexander Downer, was very receptive to our ideas and recommendations. The Chamber has always
encouraged and supported Chinese signature and endorsement of human rights
agreements and particularly the two United Nations Covenants on Political and
Civil; and Economic, Social and Cultural Human Rights. These signatures have
been very important for trade and investment harmony. Similarly ACCCI has always had
confidence that the structure and procedures of the Chinese Government were
evolving to meet the demands of membership of the WTO and the global
community of nations. The new leadership of an expanded Chinese Communist
Party Politbureau - from 7 to 9 - led by General Secretary Hu Jintao, must
continue these policies of "opening up" launched in December 1978. Human Rights under the new
"social democratic" philosophy of the 'Three Represents' proclaimed
by retiring President Jiang Zemin, will inevitable change the nature of the
Chinese Communist Party - certainly as leading business figures climb the
steps to greater influence and power in future years. So Australia with five years of
experience, and projects well advanced, is strategically placed to contribute
to human rights developments in China -whether economic, social and cultural
or the more contentious political and civil. These human rights developments
will help ease the internal domestic strains placed on a society and
civilisation under extreme pressures of change from global forces. There will be no peaceful trade
and investment relations between China and the world, including Australia,
unless General Secretary Hu Jindao and his eight associates on the Chinese
Communist Party Politbureau respond resolutely to the human rights challenges
of the 1.3 billion Chinese people. Old men can not rule from the
grave. China is expected by the global community to take a leadership role in
world affairs on all the major issues, and this includes the questions of
democracy and human rights. Chamber has watched China since
our foundation on 16th September 1976. Foundation Members had involvement
with China going back to the first Chinese Consul to Australia, in Melbourne
in 1913, after the Revolution which overthrew the Qing Empire in 1912. We
have always had confidence that China would emerge to take its rightful place
in the world. Future President Hu Jintao now
has that responsibility. |
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Background Information from: Mr David Robinson, Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity Commission DavidRobinson@humanrights.gov.au August 2002 In August
1997, following discussions between Premier Li Peng and Prime Minister John
Howard, China and Australia initiated a high level dialogue on human
rights. During the course of the
initial dialogue it was agreed that the two countries would undertake a
program of technical cooperation aimed at strengthening the administration,
promotion and protection of human rights in China. Subsequent rounds of the annual human rights dialogue have
noted the success of the activities sponsored under the technical cooperation
program and endorsed further activities
intended to consolidate and extend the achievements of earlier activities. The
activities, known collectively as the Human Rights Technical Cooperation
(HRTC) Program, are each of small scale and generally of relatively short
duration. While the program as a whole is intended to have a long-term impact
across Chinese society, each activity focuses on an organisation and a
sectoral area where it is possible to have an immediate impact on a specific
aspect of human rights in China. The
design of the program recognises that its overall impact is likely to be
modest and that substantial change is likely to come slowly. However it is implicit in the design of
all activities that they have a direct impact and that they foster and
sponsor longer term contact between Chinese and Australian individuals and
organisations. HRTC activities focus on three main theme areas: ·
legal reform, ·
women’s and children’s rights; and ·
ethnic and minority rights. Each
activity is designed and implemented through a cooperative venture between
the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and a particular
Chinese organisation. On the
Australian side, the human rights dialogue is managed by the Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian contribution to HRTC is provided
through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the
Australian Government’s development cooperation agency. AusAID has entered into a Record of
Understanding with HREOC to manage the overall implementation of HRTC. HREOC works directly with the Chinese
counterpart agencies and with the Australian specialist agencies and
individuals that participate in particular activities. On the
Chinese side, cooperative relationships leading to the implementation of
particular activities have been formed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(the lead counterpart organisation), the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the
Supreme People’s Court, the National Judges College, the State Ethnic Affairs
Commission, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Public Security, the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the All-China Women’s Federation.
Consultations with the State Family Planning Commission, the All-China Youth
Federation and other agencies have also taken place with a view to their
future involvement in the program. A
significant trend in the HRTC Program has been the increasing geographical
spread of its activities. In the early days, most HRTC activities were
concentrated in the capital and surrounding regions. Over time, efforts have
been made to spread the benefits of the program more widely, through the
implementation of training programs and other activities in provincial
locations. HRTC is a
concrete manifestation of the commitment of the two Governments to work
towards improvements in the administration, promotion and protection of human
rights in China. Individual
activities focus on practical measures to achieve these ends. The entire program is fundamentally
underpinned by the view that by working together and by exchanging views and
approaches, the most effective elements of human rights protection, promotion
and administration will develop and prosper. Previous Activities Since the
initial dialogue the program has grown and developed from general
introductory style activities to more closely targeted activities. Some examples of previous activities are
described below. Human Rights Short Courses In
July-October 1999 nine Chinese nationals from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, State Family Planning Commission, State Ethnic Affairs Commission,
Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security and the China Law
Society spent three months in Australia undertaking a purpose-designed
course. The course was conducted
directly by HREOC but included visits to and lectures on the role of
Australian organisations involved in the promotion, protection and
administration of human rights. These
included the NSW and Commonwealth Ombudsman, the Human Rights Council, the
Aboriginal Justice Advisory Council, the NSW Police Service, the Police
Integrity Commission, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Independent
Commission Against Corruption, the Department of Corrective Services, Amnesty
International and a number of other relevant organisations. Discussions with
NSW and Commonwealth politicians and office bearers and attendance at two
relevant international conferences also formed part of the activity. Postgraduate scholarships Scholarships
for postgraduate studies in human rights related disciplines at Australian
universities have been granted to key officials from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of China. So far two scholarships have been awarded each year, with
most of the students undertaking master of laws programs with an emphasis on
human rights subjects. HRTC students have attended the University of New
South Wales and the University of Melbourne. The
objective of this activity is to expand and strengthen the understanding of
human rights and the related domestic issues among Chinese officials working
in a key government agency directly concerned with human rights issues. Judicial Cooperation In 1999
the former Chief Justice of Australia, Sir Anthony Mason, together with a
serving judge from the Federal Court of Australia Justice Finkelstein,
delivered lectures at the National Judges College in Beijing. The lectures
encompassed a number of subjects, most notably judicial review and the rules
of criminal procedure. Sir Anthony Mason and Federal Court Justice Matthews
returned to the NJC for further lectures in July 2000. In June
2000 five judges from the Supreme People’s Court of China and a number of
provincial courts undertook a ten day study visit to Australia to examine
forensic practices and procedural rules to protect human rights in Australian
courts. In October
2001 the Chief Justice of New South Wales, James Spigelman, together
with Federal Court of Australia Justice Catherine Branson, Victorian Supreme
Court Justice Murray Kellam and former High Court Justice Sir Daryl Dawson, conducted
training at the National Judges’ College in Beijing. The focus of the
training was on judicial ethics and covered issues such as judicial
independence, conflict of interests, judicial impartiality and bias. This
activity coincided with the introduction of China’s first Code of Judicial
Ethics and the training provided some initial guidance on the application of
its provisions. Judicial
cooperation under the HRTC Program has moved from a standard lecture format
introducing broad themes to a more practical training format focusing on
specific topics relevant to the protection of human rights in the context of
judicial practices. Civil Society Seminar In
September 1999 a two-day seminar held in Beijing brought together a number of
Australians prominent in human rights promotion and protection and Chinese
nationals with similar responsibilities.
Participants, who included NGOs, academics, officials and social
commentators, discussed the concept of civil society and the role of
government and non-government organisations in the development and
implementation of social policy. On
the Chinese side participating organisations included the China National
Committee on Aging, the All China Youth Federation, the China Disabled
Persons Federation, the All-China Women’s Federation, the Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mass Communication Law and
Freedom of Expression The
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) has translated into Chinese a
series of key western books and articles on freedom of expression and mass
communication law. This activity may
be complemented by a seminar held in Beijing to exchange views on freedom of
expression and its impact on mass communication. The seminar would be intended to discuss the role of government
regulation, the judiciary and independent journalism. The longer term goal of the whole activity
is to assist CASS to develop recommendations and draft legislation
incorporating freedoms into mass communication law. Human Rights Reporting Training In September 1999 an
introductory seminar on the reporting requirements of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International
Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) was
conducted in China by officers of the Attorney-General’s Department and the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In May
2000, officers from both departments, together with HREOC, provided training
in Australia for key Chinese officials who would be responsible (in the event
of their ratification) for reporting under the ICCPR and the ICESCR. The
longer term goal of these two initial activities was to provide encouragement
for China to ratify and fully implement the two covenants. China signed the ICESCR in
October 1997 and ratified it in February 2001. The treaty came into effect in China in July 2001. The first report on implementation of the
provisions of the treaty will be due in July 2003. These developments provided
impetus for a further reporting seminar focusing specifically on the ICESCR,
held in Beijing in July 2002. The seminar was conducted in partnership with
the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs which has overall responsibility for
reporting under the treaty. The Chinese participants comprised approximately
30 officials from government agencies relevant to the reporting process. As with the previous reporting activities,
the Australian presenters were from the Attorney-General’s Department, the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and HREOC. Presentations addressed
various steps in the reporting process including information gathering,
report preparation and report presentation and discussion before the
Commission on Human Rights. This activity was more tightly focused than
either of the previous activities in that it dealt exclusively with the
ICESCR and involved Chinese officials who will carry actual responsibility
for preparing China’s first report. The objective of this activity
was to strengthen the capacity of Chinese organisations to prepare China’s
initial report under the ICESCR. This
activity will contribute to the goal of HRTC by providing officials with a
good understanding of the reporting requirements of the ICESCR, particularly
in relation to China’s capacity to promote and protect the rights guaranteed
by the Covenant. Women’s Legal Training Workshop This two
part activity involved a visit by officials of the All-China Women’s
Federation to Australia (Jan 2000) to plan, together with relevant Australian
organisations, a subsequent workshop held in Shandong Province (Feb
2000). The workshop helped develop
practical measures by which provincial organisations can ensure that women
receive the full protection of the law.
The Australian organisations involved in the activity included the Women’s
Legal Resources Centre, the Domestic Violence Advocacy Service, the Public
Interest Advocacy Centre, the Waverley Domestic Violence Court Assistance
Service and the Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre, as well as
the NSW Department of Community Services and the NSW Police Service. Workshops on Family
Violence and Minority Women Officials
from the All-China Women’s Federation and the local women’s organisation in
Xining, Qinghai Province, visited Australia in November 2000 to examine
strategies for addressing family violence faced by minority women. This activity built on and extended the
outcomes of the Women’s Legal Training Workshop (above). This activity
included planning a subsequent workshop which was held in Xining in May 2001.
That workshop was conducted in partnership with the All-China Women’s
Federation and the Qinghai Provincial Women’s Federation. The Xining
workshop in May 2001 was attended by 49 Chinese participants from a range of
local organisations relevant to the issue of family violence. Presentations
were given by both Chinese and Australian experts, the latter comprising a
senior magistrate from Penrith Local Court in NSW and representatives of the
Domestic Violence Advocacy Service of NSW, the NSW Women’s Refuge Resource
Centre and the NSW Police Service. The main outcome of the workshop was a
proposal for the establishment of a local policy on family violence. In
addition, the Deputy Governor of Qinghai Provice announced that as a
follow-up activity from this workshop the provincial Government would launch
a new Campaign on Violence Against Women. A further
workshop on family violence was held in Xining in July 2002. The workshop involved presentations by Chinese and Australian experts
as well as informal discussions, in both plenary and in smaller groups. The
Australian presenters included a Senior Magistrate from the Family Violence
Court in South Australia, a Domestic Violence Liaison Officer from the
Victorian Police Service, the Coordinator of the Domestic Violence Advocacy
Service of NSW and the Coordinator of the Central Violence Intervention
Program of South Australia. The workshop was be attended by approximately 60
Chinese participants working in relevant areas including courts, police,
local government and community organizations. This workshop built on the
achievements of the 2001 Xining Workshop by developing practical strategies
and proposals to implement the local policy on family violence. The July 2002 workshop was part
of a multi-stage project intended to be conducted over the course of about
three years. The full project will
incorporate the following stages: ·
workshop and training course for local officials
and community groups, focusing on gender awareness; ·
line surveys to establish social awareness of
domestic violence issues; ·
public awareness activities; ·
establishment of domestic violence hotline and
improvements to counselling services; ·
preparation and distribution of advocacy and public
awareness materials; ·
advocacy aimed at formulation and implementation of
local regulations; and ·
study of relevant international best practice in
information gathering and development and use of advocacy materials. The
longer-term objective of these activities is to strengthen the capacity of
the All-China Women’s Federation to deliver effective and culturally specific
assistance through provincial level operatives to minority women experiencing
domestic violence. Trafficking
of Women and Children In April
2002 a Workshop on Trafficking of Women and Children was held in Guiyang in
Guizhou Province. This activity was part of a larger anti-trafficking project
based in the provinces of Guizhou and Sichuan. The project is being conducted
in partnership with the All-China Women’s Federation and the Women’s
Federations of the two provinces. The objective of this activity
was to enhance the capacity of the ACWF and local women’s groups in two
provinces to combat trafficking in women and children. This activity will
contribute to the goal of HRTC by improving the capacity to promote and
protect the rights of women and children subject to trafficking. The Guiyang workshop examined
the causes of trafficking, identified various manifestations of the problem
and considered a variety of strategies for combating trafficking in both
provinces. Recognising the diverse range of authorities that are affected by
trafficking in women and children, the 60 Chinese participants included
officials from a wide range of agencies in each province. This included
representatives of the local level Public Security Bureau (PSB), Department
of Labor and various academics. This helped ensure a holistic cross-portfolio
discussion of key issues. The Guiyang workshop was the
initial stage of a multi-year program of assistance on anti-trafficking in
the two provinces. Other stages that have been proposed include: ·
baseline surveys to establish social awareness of
trafficking issues; ·
public awareness activities targeting potential
migrant workers, women and children and officials concerned with trafficking
issues; ·
preparation and distribution of advocacy materials; ·
study of relevant international best practice in
information gathering and development and use of advocacy materials. Provision of Legal Aid
Services Cooperation
in this area has been with the National Legal Aid Centre in the Ministry of
Justice, which has responsibility for coordinating the provision of legal aid
services nationally in China. This cooperation has involved a number of
stages which may culminate in a pilot program in China for the delivery of
legal assistance to the poor. The first stage was a mission to Hubei Province
in May 2001 by representatives of the Kingsford Legal Centre of the
University of New South Wales, to examine the conditions and circumstances of
legal aid services in that province. The second stage was a visit to
Australia by legal aid officials from Hubei Province as well as the National
Legal Aid Centre in August 2001 to examine Australian models for provision of
legal aid services. That visit was coordinated by the Kingsford Legal Centre
and included meetings with the NSW legal Aid Commission, the Federal Attorney
General’s Department, private legal firms and a wide range of specialist and
generalist community based legal centres. During that visit, there was also
discussion of a possible future pilot program on legal aid, based in China
and drawing upon both Chinese and Australian expertise. Correctional Administration
Reform In
April-May 2000 twelve officials from the Ministry of Justice (which is
responsible for prison administration) visited Australia to study methods by
which the protection of human rights can co-exist with correctional
regimes. The activity introduced the
officials to a variety of practical measures to support the protection of the
rights of prisoners, with particular attention to the protection of the
rights of juveniles and women. Subsequent activities in the
areas of corrections have been directed to the design and implementation of
more focused training, undertaken in partnership with China’s Central
Educational Institute of Prison Police Officers, the Ministry of Justice’s
training institute for correctional officers. In March 2002 seven
representatives of the Ministry of Justice and the Central Educational
Institute of Prison Police Officers undertook a two-week visit to Australia
to design a training program for delivery in China. During that visit they
spent one week at the Corrective Services Academy of the NSW Department of
Corrective Services, the organisation responsible for training of prison
officers in New South Wales. The week included formal presentations and
visits to correctional facilities. The other week of their visit was spent
with other relevant agencies including the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Using these observations, they also engaged in the planning and design of the
training program to be delivered to correctional officers in China. That training program was
subsequently held in May 2002 at the Central Educational Institute of Prison
Police Officers, in Baoding City, Hebei Province. Training was delivered to
219 officers comprising both undergraduates (68) and postgraduates (151). The
Australian team consisted of trainers from the NSW Corrective Services
Academy. Topics covered in the Australian presentations included the systems
for training and professional development of correctional officers,
disciplinary procedures for inmates, education and work programs in prisons
and other programs to assist prisoner rehabilitation. Presentations
demonstrated the system of “case management” which includes development of
case plans to address in a holistic way the individual needs and requirements
of prisoners. Criminal Procedure Training This work
has been undertaken in cooperation with the Supreme People’s Procuratorate,
the highest prosecutorial agency in China, with wide powers in relation to
arrest, investigation and other areas of criminal procedure. A seminar on Human Rights Protection in
Criminal Procedure was held in Zhengzhou, Henan Province in June 2000. The
primary objective of that seminar was to provide the Supreme People’s
Procuratorate with a broad knowledge of rule of evidence and criminal
procedure, combined with a practical understanding of how these rules and
procedures can operate to protect the human rights of persons accused of
crime. The activity was also designed
to assist work towards developing codified rules of evidence for use in the
Chinese judicial system. It involved presentations by Australian experts with
practical experience in these areas, including the NSW Director of public
Prosecutions and a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria. Subsequent
to the above activity, officials of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate visited
Australia in April 2001 to examine Australian law and practices in key areas
of criminal justice procedure. During this visit, they also identified three
priority areas for further training and commenced the design of training
workshops in those areas. The three areas identified were i) Rules of
Evidence; ii) Preparation and Presentation of the Prosecution Case; and iii)
Juvenile Justice. The first
in this series of workshops was held in Chengde, Hebei Province in August
2001. This workshop dealt with rules of evidence and built on the earlier
workshop in Zhengzhou (above) with a more detailed and focused examination of
specific evidentiary rules and procedures. The Australian presenters included
representatives of the Office of the NSW Director of Public Prosecution and
the Victorian Bar. The second
in the series of workshops was held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province in June
2002. The Chinese participants comprised approximately 100 procurators
representing the prosecution services of eight provinces, three autonomous
regions and two municipalities. The Australian presenters were from the
Office of the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions. The workshop addressed a
variety of issues central to protection of human rights in the preparation
and presentation of the prosecution case. Topics included the role and responsibilities of the prosecutor; the discretion to
prosecute; summary and committal proceedings, disclosure of evidence and case
management. Police Ethics and
Accountability Cooperation
in this area has been with the Ministry of Public Security, the agency
responsible for police services. Within the Ministry, the focus has been on
the Department of Discipline and Supervision, which is responsible for the
maintenance of ethical standards on the part of police. Six
officials from the Ministry of Public Security visited Australia in December
2001 to examine structures and procedures for ensuring that police officers
maintain appropriate ethical standards when carrying out their duties and are
fully accountable for their actions. While the bulk of the program was
devoted to sessions with the Australian Federal Police, there was also
involvement by the New South Wales Police Service, the Commonwealth
Ombudsman, the New South Wales Ombudsman and the Police Integrity Commission.
The visit
was also used to design a workshop on police ethics and accountability, which
was held in Shenyang in Liaoning Province in May 2001. The workshop involved
30 Chinese police participants from a variety of provinces plus 60 other
observers. The Australian experts comprised representatives of the Australian
Federal Police. The workshop examined the issue of police ethics and
accountability from a human rights perspective and examined both Australian
and Chinese models for the supervision of police conduct. The longer
term objective of these activities is to strengthen the capacity of the
Ministry of Public Security to maintain ethical standards and accountability
in the performance of its functions. Overall Program Attributes There are
other activities that have been or are being implemented under HRTC. Together these activities touch on a very
broad expanse of Chinese human rights activity. Despite its relatively modest size the program is both
vertically extensive in that it works at many levels within Chinese society,
and horizontally extensive in that it crosses many sectors. This has not prevented the program from
establishing clear themes and common attributes for all activities. These include: ·
all activities are underpinned
by the belief that cooperation is the key to progress; ·
each activity involves
working directly with a key Chinese organisation in a position to effect
practical change; ·
each activity attempts to
bring to bear the ‘best’ Australian expertise and practice; and ·
each activity incorporates
objectives on two levels: immediate, albeit modest, impact and longer term
change. |
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