(Geneva)—Human Rights Watch today urged the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to hold China accountable for widespread abuses and to investigate Russian atrocities in Chechnya.
The organization made the appeal on the eve of the Commission's annual six-week meeting, which will start in Geneva on Monday, March 20.
"There has a been a sharp downturn in human rights in China that requires a strong multilateral response." said Joanna Weschler, U.N. representative of Human Rights Watch. "China is closing down virtually every possible source of peaceful opposition. Dialogue alone is not sufficient."
Weschler noted that U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson had recently expressed dismay at a "deterioration" in China 's rights record in fundamental areas, especially the rights to freedom of expression, religion and association.
The group also called on the Commission to respond to Russian atrocities in Chechnya. "Our researchers have uncovered a pattern of Russian war crimes, including the summary executions of civilians throughout Grozny," said Weschler. "The situation demands a thorough and in-depth U.N. investigation. The Commission in Geneva cannot look the other way."
Human Rights Watch is an international monitoring group based in New York. It conducts investigations into human rights abuses in about 70 countries and publishes its findings in dozens of reports every year. It is entirely privately-funded.
Human Rights Watch also called on the Commission to name an envoy to monitor the treatment of human rights defenders around the world. "In the last year, at least six human rights activists were killed because of their work, and many more were imprisoned or threatened. In several countries, no independent human rights monitoring is even allowed," said Weschler. "It's time the United Nations took real action to protect those who are risking their lives for the rights of others." The envoy would build on the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly in December 1998.
Human Rights Watch also urged the Commission to:
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call on the Indonesian government to provide continued protection and assistance to East Timorese refugees in West Timor and to prosecute militia members who continue to intimidate, harass, and attack refugees and humanitarian aid workers;
urge U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to continue international investigations into atrocities in East Timor until the perpetrators and planners of the violence, including the most senior culpable Indonesian security officials, are brought to justice;
appoint a Special Rapporteur to look into the "rapid and severe deterioration of human rights" in Uzbekistan;
urge the UN human rights observers, deployed as part of the UN operation in Sierra Leone, to report promptly and publicly on current abuses affecting all civilians, including internally displaced persons, women and children; and
urge the U.N. leadership to be responsive to the human rights observers' reporting;
assure that the special rapporteur on the Democratic Republic of Congo, Roberto Garretَn, has the mandate and the resources to investigate alleged massacres committed in 1996-97 by forces loyal to Laurent Kabila. Kabila blocked previous U.N. teams from carrying out the probe, but recently invited them back;
move forward in drafting a convention against "disappearances;" approve the draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child barring the use of children under the age of 18 in armed conflict; request the United States to turn over to Haitian prosecutors materials seized from Haiti's army and death squads in 1994;
appoint a monitor on violence against children to observe adherence to the standards protecting children and to investigate abuses.
Human Rights Watch said that in China, groups such as "Corruption Watch" and the China Democracy Party have been singled out for detentions and in some cases, severe prison sentences. Leaders of worker and peasant organizations, as well as those trying to peacefully organize workers or protesting corruption, have been arrested. The crackdown on the Falun Gong movement that began last July has resulted in widespread violations of basic rights of free expression, association and belief. At least 111 Falun Gong members, according to Chinese officials, have been formally arrested, charged with establishing an illegal organization, organizing illegal gatherings, and using the Internet to promote Falun Gong's message. The organization said that it was also deeply concerned about serious abuses in Tibet, including beatings, torture and government interference with Buddhist religious activities, as well as the impact of draconian measures imposed against alleged terrorists in Xinjiang such as increasing executions and lengthy prison terms for suspected "splittists."
Since the beginning of the conflict in Chechnya, Russian forces have indiscriminately and disproportionately bombed and shelled civilian objects, causing heavy civilian casualties. Their bombing campaign has turned many parts of Chechnya to a wasteland. On February 5, Russian forces went on a killing spree in the Aldi district of Grozny, shooting at least sixty-two and possibly many more civilians. Human Rights Watch has documented two other massacres by Russian forces in Chechnya. In the past month, the Russian authorities have taken more than a thousand men to undisclosed detention facilities, where victims say they have been beaten and tortured.
