UN Delays Adoption of Chinese Human Rights Report

March 25, 2014 by admin

In response to protests from a NGO on the UN assembly floor calling for a moment of silence for Cao Shunli, a civil society activist who recently died in detention after failing to receive adequate medical treatment, the UN Human Rights Council postponed the adoption of China’s Universal Periodic Review, a self-assessment of domestic human rights developments.

Cao had campaigned for Chinese civil society institutions to play a role in drafting the report. Chinese authorities detained Cao as she attempted to board a flight to Geneva, Switzerland to participate in a human rights training program. Cao died in detention after Chinese authorities denied her medical treatment for several serious illnesses, including tuberculosis and liver diseases.

The incident occurred in the wake of China’s attempt to block Ti-Anna Wang, the daughter of incarcerated activist Wang Bingzheng, from speaking in front of the UN Human Rights Council earlier this week. A Western diplomat described the delayed adoption of China’s UPR as “very unusual.” Human rights groups hope this disruption will prompt UN diplomats to more seriously reflect on China’s dismal human rights record prior to voting on whether to approve the UPR.