Report: United Nations Committee Against Torture

On November 21, the United Nations Committee Against Torture released its "Concluding Observations" in its the fourth periodic report on the implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in the "People's" Republic of China.

The reports puts forth various concerns regarding the systematic use of torture by the Chinese government. It speaks of torture utilized to extract confessions, reports of abuse of prisoners in custody which caused their deaths, petitioners held secretly in "black jails," harassment of defense lawyers and human rights activists, violence against women, "Re-education through Labor," in which the prisoners are simply sent to labor camps without trail, surveillance, the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, the expulsion of North Korean refugees, virtual lack of compensation for abuse sustained, the persecution of Uyghurs and Tibetans, (see the report entitled "The Continuing Use of Torture Against the Tibetan People" submitted to the Committee by the Central Tibetan Administration and soon after withdrawn from the website of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights) and the violent methods used to implement the population control.

The Committee expressed frustration at the lack of data provided by the Chinese Government, and called for "a full and impartial investigation into the suppression of the Democracy movement in Beijing in June 1989" - the massacre of peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators carried out by the "People's" Liberation Army at Tiananmen Square.

We should note that the 1988 Law on the Preservation of State Secrets is frequently used to cover-up all manner of harassment, torture, imprisonment and execution.

The Committee also called out for investigations of the unknown numbers of dead, imprisoned, missing and tortured Tibetans after the 2008 protests and for information regarding the XIth Panchen Lama.

Some excerpts from the report, entitled "Advanced Unedited Version, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 19 of the Convention," followed by the link to the entire report.

"While the Committee takes note of the information from the State party on conditions of detention in prisons, it remains concerned about reports of abuses in custody, including high numbers of deaths, possibly related to torture or ill-treatment, and about the lack of investigation into these abuses and deaths in custody."

"The Committee remains concerned with the extended use of all forms of administrative detention, including 'Re-education through Labor,' for individuals who have never had their case tried in court, nor the possibility of challenging their administrative detention."

"The Committee is concerned by allegations that secret detention facilities, including the so-called 'black jails,' exist and are used to detain petitioners."

"The absence of comprehensive or disaggregated data on complaints, investigations, prosecutions and convictions of cases of torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement personnel, as well as on detention conditions, abuses by public officials, administrative detention, death penalty cases, and violence against women, ethnic and religious minorities severely hampers the identification of possible patterns of abuse requiring attention."

"The Committee is greatly concerned by the allegations of targeted torture, ill-treatment, and disappearances directed against national, ethnic, religious minorities and other vulnerable groups in China, among them Tibetans, Uighurs, and Falun Gong practitioners. In addition, the return of North Korean border-crossers and refugees is also an area of concern for the Committee with regard to vulnerable groups."

"The Special Rapporteur on Torture who has noted that an increase in organ transplant operations coincides with 'the beginning of the persecution of (Falun Gong practitioners)' and who asked for 'a full explanation of the source of organ transplants' which could clarify the discrepancy and disprove the allegation of organ harvesting (A/HRC/7/3/Add.1). The Committee is further concerned with information received that Falun Gong practitioners have been extensively subjected to torture and ill-treatment in prisons and that some of them have been used for organ transplants (arts. 12 and 16)."

"The Committee notes again with concern the lack of investigation into the alleged use of coercive and violent measures to implement the population policy (A/55/44, para.122)... The State party should implement the population policy in full compliance with the relevant provisions of the Convention and prosecute those responsible for resorting to coercive and violent measures in implementing such policy, in particular against women belonging to ethnic minority groups."

"The State party should ensure that adequate compensation is provided to victims of torture and ill-treatment and that appropriate rehabilitation programs are provided to all victims of torture, including sexual violence, trafficking, domestic violence and ill-treatment, including medical and psychological assistance."

"The State party should take measures to ensure that no one is involuntarily placed in psychiatric institutions for reasons other than medical. Where hospitalization is required for medical reasons, the State party should ensure that it is decided only upon the advice of independent psychiatric experts and that such decisions can be appealed."

An excerpt from the report regarding Tibet:

"The Committee notes with great concern the reports received on the recent crackdown in the Tibetan Autonomous Region and neighboring Tibetan prefectures and counties in the State party which has deepened a climate of fear and further inhibits accountability. These reports follow longstanding reports of torture, beatings, shackling and other abusive treatment, in particular of Tibetan monks and nuns, at the hands of public officials, public security and state security, as well as paramilitary and even unofficial personnel at the instigation or with the acquiescence or consent of public officials. Notwithstanding the numbers provided by the State party on persons arrested and those sentenced to imprisonment in the aftermath of the March 2008 events in the Tibetan Autonomous Region and neighboring Tibetan prefectures and counties, the Committee regrets the lack of further information on these persons. In particular, the State party reported that 1231 suspects 'have redeemed themselves and been released after receiving education and administrative punishment,' but has provided no further information on these cases or their treatment. In particular, the Committee expresses its concern at: CAT/C/CHN/CO/4

(a) The large number of persons detained or arrested in the aftermath of the March 2008 demonstrations and related events in the Tibetan Autonomous Region and neighboring Tibetan prefectures and counties in Gansu, Suchuan and Qinghai provinces, and the reported lack of restraint with which persons were treated, based on numerous allegations and credible reports made available to the Committee;

(b) The failure to investigate the deaths resulting from indiscriminate firing by the police into crowds of reportedly largely peaceful demonstrators in Kardze county, Ngaba county, and Lhasa;

(c) The failure to conduct independent and impartial investigations into allegations that some of the large number of persons detained or arrested have been subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment;

(d) The failure to allow independent and impartial investigators into the region;

(e) The consistent allegations that some of those arrested could not notify their relatives, did not have prompt access to an independent doctor, nor to an independent lawyer, that lawyers offering to represent them were warned and otherwise deterred from providing that legal assistance, and that the speeded up trials of 69 Tibetans led to them being reportedly sentenced in a summary manner;

(f) The large number of persons who have been arrested, but whose current whereabouts remain unknown and which the State party has been unable to clarify despite written and oral requests from the Committee (list of issues, question 2(l), CAT/C/CHN/Q/4) (arts. 2, 11 and 12)."

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/CAT.C.CHN.CO.4.pdf

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