Reuters AlertNet Lite - US/China: Obama Should Raise Human Rights in China

Reuters AlertNet Full site

NEWSDESK

US/China: Obama Should Raise Human Rights in China

09 Nov 2009 19:43:49 GMT
Source: Human Rights Watch

(New York) - United States President Barack Obama should raise key human rights concerns publicly on his first official visit to China, Human Rights Watch said in a letter released today.
"President Obama has spoken forcefully about the importance of defending human rights globally in speeches in Egypt, Ghana, Turkey, and at the United Nations," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "The test now is whether he will do so in a country where the government remains profoundly hostile to these concepts."
The letter urges Obama to raise three key issues, including:

Freedom of expression, including internet censorship and the imprisonment of peaceful government critics;
Rule of law, especially the disbarment of China's fledgling "rights protection" lawyers;
Tibet and Xinjiang, particularly the executions of Tibetans alleged to have been involved in the March 2008 protests there, and of Uighurs for involvement in the July 2009 protests in that region.

The letter acknowledges some of the administration's steps to promote human rights in China, such as issuing a statement on the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square and raising some individual cases.Â But the lack of more visible, consistent action on human rights, coupled with Secretary Clinton's February 2009 comments en route to Beijing that human rights "shouldn't interfere" with other issues in the US-China relationship, and the decision not to meet the Dalai Lama prior to the November summit, has raised expectations within the Chinese government that Obama will not press these concerns.
"The Chinese government is now betting that President Obama won't raise human rights, while Chinese civil society activists, lawyers, and peaceful critics - the kind of people with whom the President typically aligns himself - are fervently hoping he will," said Kenneth Roth.

AlertNet news is provided by

Email this article Send comments

NGO latest

• Joining Forces to Launch First Annual World Pneumonia Day, Fight World's Leading Child Killer
Save the Children - International Alliance

• Children's Right to Participate
Save the Children - International Alliance

• ACT Appeal: South China Floods
ACT - Switzerland

• EVERY ONE Campaign Launches: Millions of children's lives could be saved for half the amount spent on bottled water each year
Save the Children - International Alliance

• Merlin's surgical team to fly to Indonesia
Merlin - UK

MORE >>

Latest news

• HIGHLIGHTS-Comments from euro zone finance ministers

• US/China: Obama Should Raise Human Rights in China

• Peaceful demonstrations planned for WTO ministerial

• Karzai seeks closer trade ties with Muslim nations

• ANALYSIS-Hype belies challenges ahead for China-Africa ties

MORE >>

HRW news

Background information

Facts & figures

Egypt

Turkey

Ghana

China

Breaking stories

HIGHLIGHTS-Comments from euro zone finance ministers (1 minute ago)

US/China: Obama Should Raise Human Rights in China (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight

Leaders "can't afford" failed deal at Copenhagen (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed

Joining Forces to Launch First Annual World Pneumonia Day, Fight World's Leading Child Killer (1 minute ago)

Blogs

Contraception access key to climate change adaptation (1 minute ago)

Maps

Typhoon Parma (1 minute ago)

Del.icio.us | Digg

Digg |

NewsVine | Reddit

Latest images

Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-11-09T154536Z_01_NEP08_RTRIDSP_2_NEPAL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/NEP08.htm

Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-11-09T154316Z_01_NEP04_RTRIDSP_2_NEPAL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/NEP04.htm

Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-11-09T154148Z_01_NEP03_RTRIDSP_2_NEPAL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/NEP03.htm

Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-11-09T022206Z_01_PEK04_RTRIDSP_2_CHINA-HEALTH_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/PEK04.htm

Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-11-08T131404Z_01_CAI102_RTRIDSP_2_FLU-EGYPT_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/CAI102.htm

Tibetan exiles living in Nepal take part in a candlelight prayer ceremony, to commemorate those killed in Tibet, in Kathmandu November 9, 2009. The Tibetan exiles said they were denouncing the ...

More pictures | Galleries

Last updated:Mon Nov 9 20:34:10 2009

NGO latest

Latest news

Background information

Related articles