International Solidarity (ITUC, GUF, Union Statements)

Universal Periodic Review of China : An opportunity for genuine debate on progress?

The UN Human Rights Council will hold the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of China in Geneva on 9 February 2009.

The purpose of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is:

"The UPR was created through the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006 by resolution 60/251, which established the Human Rights Council itself. It is a cooperative process which, by 2011, will have reviewed the human rights records of every country. Currently, no other universal mechanism of this kind exists. The UPR is one of the key elements of the new Council which reminds States of their responsibility to fully respect and implement all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The ultimate aim of this new mechanism is to improve the human rights situation in all countries and address human rights violations wherever they occur."[OHCHR's website]

Under UPR, all UN member states are subjected to a uniform process according to a rotating schedule. NGOs and other stakeholders were required to submit China reports to the UN last August, and these have been collated by the OHCHR into a single document that, along with China's own report, form the core of the formal review process, which is scheduled to take place on 9 February.

The ITUC submitted a ten page submission to the UPR which can be found here and here on the UN website

The troika overseeing China's UPR is made up of representatives from Canada, India, and Nigeria. The council's recommendations to China will be released on 11 February.

So far the UPR process has been disappointing. Significant criticism ahs been made of past sessions which had lacked specific recommendations and any hard hitting calls for change. However we still hope that the process can make a difference and that serious discussion of continued human rights issues, including labour rights, is the focus of the session and not compromised self censorship. The UN also prepared a short summary of the 46 stake holder submissions which some have already claimed has glossed over some of the abuses raised in the submissions by external NGOs and others and gives equal weight to NGOs and CHinese mainland groups.

Over 40 stakeholders submitted comments to the UPR with the ITUC being the only independent trade union organisation submitting a report. However just under half of the submissions were from groups inside China, many of which do not fall under usual definitions of an ‘NGO’.

ACFTU Submission

The ACFTU submitted a report which is, not surprisingly, rather positive about the protection and promotion of trade union and labour rights for the Chinese people. Instead of taking the opportunity to outline any achievements they may have made, instead the submission ignores the lack of free trade unions in China and is a disappointing defence of their work and the government’s work with only minor ‘recommendations’ for progress on non-controversial back pay and overtime issues.

For example: “According to the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, citizens have the right for the freedom of association. The Labour Law of the People’s Republic of China prescribes that “workers have the right to join and organize trade unions in accordance with the law.”

China Africa Business Council Submission

Interestingly the China-Africa Business Council (CABC) has also submitted a report which appears to argue that recent poverty reduction and related developments in Africa resulting from China's economic investment and ties is all part and parcel of China's staunch defence of human rights and that proper pursuit of CSR will save the world.

The CABC is a “non-profit civil chamber of commerce with private enterprises” aiming to guide Chinese private enterprises in the “exploration of African market” and to “further strengthen the international exchanges and corporation”. It also seems to adhere to the notion that the right to subsistence is of overriding importance. While many in China and elsewhere in the south rightly say that western advocates of human rights have placed civil and political rights over and above economic and social rights, the view that for a developing country and its citizens the right to subsistence is the priority over and above other core human rights is also a view shared by many staunch opponents of human rights.

Taking credit for development in Africa, the CABC states that in order to “realize the magnificent blueprint of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), CABC would successfully introduce to Africa the concept of development-oriented poverty alleviation and development mode”. Coincidentally the report also claims Holley-Cotex’s production of cheap anti-malarial drugs and the expansion of its brand into Africa as another achievement for human rights development.

ITUC Submission and recommendations

The ITCU submission included the labour situation in Hong Kong and Macau and made the following key recommendations

Full report here and here on the UN website

VIII. Recommendations

As a matter of priority the government needs to ratify ILO Conventions No. 87 and No. 98, withdraw its objection to article 8 of the ICESCR and ensure effective implementation and enforcement of these core conventions.
Workers need to be guaranteed the right to freely organise in independent unions of their own choosing. They should have the right to bargain collectively as well as the right to strike. The intertwining of the official trade union with the authorities and the Communist party needs to be ended. Independent unions that genuinely defend the rights of workers will reduce the growing social unrest and form the foundation for the economy to enjoy more equitable and sustainable growth than that currently taking place. The harassment, detention and prosecution of labour activists and labour groups should be halted.
The Government needs to address the direct and indirect causes of wage differentials between men and women and take effective measures to reduce the persistent wage gap. The lack of adequate employment opportunities for ethnic minority workers and the alleged failure of major state infrastructure schemes to benefit local workers needs to be rectified. There is a need to carry out and publish more in-depth gender and ethnic analyses of the labour market.
The government needs to further address problems facing migrant workers, in particular the protection of their rights, wage payments and arrears, access to health and education, and exploitative working conditions. In particular it should take serious steps towards eliminating the Hukou system.
Work-study programs in China need to be subject to clear rules that prevent abuse. Such rules should be enforced effectively. There is a need to ensure that children under 18 years of age are not forced to work, whether within the framework of re-educational or reformative measures or at school or in any other situation. Education provision for all children, particularly rural, ethnic and migrant children must be strengthened. There is a need for statistics and information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, measures taken by the government and sanctions applied.
There is a need for the repeal or extensive limiting of state secrets laws relating to labour, including forced labour, protests and such like and an end to the use of state-secret related criminal charges being brought against workers and others for publishing protests or similar actions.
The government should take effective measures to bring legislation in line with ILO Convention No. 105 on the abolition of forced labour which will necessitate the abolition of re-education through labour. The government must end its use of prison labour for commercial production and reform or re-education through labour. Effective measures are needed to end the trafficking of women and children for forced prostitution and forced labour, including more inspections and stricter penalties.
There is an overall need for increased labour inspection and enforcement of the legislation, as many laws are relatively well developed but insufficiently adhered to. The level of penalties and fines imposed should be increased, especially in the areas of child labour and forced labour.

International Solidarity (ITUC, GUF, Union Statements)

Universal Periodic Review of China : An opportunity for genuine debate on progress?

ITUC Submission and recommendations

VIII. Recommendations

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