China: PEN International challenges China’s free expression record at UN Human Rights Council

09 July 2024: On 4 July 2024, during the outcome of China’s fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations Human Rights Council, PEN International delivered an oral statement that heavily criticised the government’s worsening crackdown on dissent and called for the release of writers, poets, journalists, academics and others who have been persecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

The oral statement is the culmination of a sustained advocacy campaign throughout China’s fourth UPR that was undertaken jointly by PEN International, the Independent Chinese PEN Center, Tibet Writers Abroad PEN, and PEN America, which included a joint report that was submitted as part of the UPR process, and high-level advocacy with representatives of numerous Permanent Missions based in Geneva.

A recording of PEN International’s oral statement is available here. A full transcript can be found below:

Mr President,

As China completes its fourth UPR, International PEN notes the widening gap between China’s stated commitment towards the advancement of human rights and the reality faced by writers, poets, journalists, bloggers and others who continue to be subjected to arbitrary arrest, long-term imprisonment and torture simply for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

Despite China’s assurances that it protects citizens’ human rights in accordance with the law, all too often it is the legal system itself that is misused as an instrument of repression, resulting in the criminalization of peaceful expression. 

Many of the most egregious human rights abuses occur in the name of national security, which is frequently deployed as a pretext to silence critical expression by circumventing due process rights enshrined elsewhere in China’s legal system. Emblematic of this is the imprisonment of poet, publisher and bookseller Gui Minhai, who is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence.

Another example is the promulgation of the National Security Law (NSL) and Article 23 in Hong Kong, which has been used to systematically undermine the territory’s distinct human rights protections, including the right to freedom of expression. Emblematic of those targeted under this draconian legislation is media publisher and writer Jimmy Lai, who is currently on trial under the NSL and faces a potential life sentence if convicted.

Despite China’s claims that the ‘rights of all ethnic groups have been fully protected’, we remain gravely concerned by the ongoing campaign of cultural repression against Uyghurs, Tibetans and other ethnic minorities. The long-term imprisonment of Uyghur academics Rahile Dawut and Ilham Tohti, and Tibetan writer Go Sherab Gyatso are emblematic of China’s long-standing efforts to dislocate Uyghurs and Tibetans from their cultural identity and heritage through overwhelming levels of repression.

International PEN urges China to demonstrate its commitment to the advancement of human rights by releasing all those detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and to bring an immediate end to its cultural repression of Uyghurs, Tibetans and other ethnic minorities.

Thank you.

Additional information

The UPR is a process led by the United Nations Human Rights Council that requires every member state to undergo a review of its human rights situation, providing an opportunity for the international community to raise concerns and recommendations concerning the human rights situation of the State under review. For the UPR to be effective, it is crucial that all States under review proactively demonstrate their commitment to human rights, acknowledging areas for improvement and implementing recommendations received from member states and civil society.

Regretfully, the government of China has demonstrated a continued disregard for the UPR and the work of the Human Rights Council. Throughout the UPR process, China rejected recommendations that reflected concerns over its worsening human rights situation including the misuse of the legal system to arbitrarily detain writers, journalists and others for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and the ongoing cultural repression of Uyghurs, Tibetans and other ethnic minorities.

China also dismissed recommendations originating from UN human rights bodies as being based on ‘false information’, effectively undermining the work of UN human rights bodies and independent experts. Such recommendations include those contained in the 2022 report on the human rights situation in Xinjiang by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which concluded that human rights violations in the region may constitute crimes against humanity. Reflecting these concerns, PEN International is also one of 29 signatories of a joint statement delivered on 4 July by the International Service for Human Rights.