URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
CHN 002/0308 /OBS 036
Arbitrary arrest / Release / Harassment
China
March 11, 2008
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in China.
Description of the situation
The Observatory was informed by Human Rights in China (HRIC) about the arbitrary arrest of Mr. Teng Biao, a Beijing-based rights defence lawyer and academic, who was awarded the Human Rights Prize of the French Republic in December 2007.
According to the information received, on the evening of March 6, 2008, Mr. Teng was abducted into an unmarked black car. No information on his whereabouts could be obtained until his release, on March 8, 2008.
In the framework of his abduction, Mr. Teng was reportedly questioned by officers from the Beijing Public Security Bureau in an unknown location about essays that he wrote and other "activities". He was released after having spent forty hours in custody.
At the end of 2007, Mr. Teng and Mr. Hu Jia, a Beijing-based HIV/AIDS activist, co-founder and former director of the Beijing Aizhixing Institute for Health Education[1], had co-written a open letter criticising the human rights record of pre-Olympic China. Mr. Teng has also written other recent essays critical of the Communist Party's policies in human rights and rule of law. In particular, Mr. Teng filed a petition to the national legislature challenging the Custody and Repatriation System (for controlling population movement), which was eventually abolished.
The Observatory expresses its concern about Mr. Teng Biao's arbitrary arrest, which seems to merely aim at sanctioning his human rights activities, as well as about the ongoing harassment against Chinese human rights defenders.
The Observatory also wishes to recall that the National People's Congress amended the Chinese Constitution in 2004 to include that "the State respects and safeguards human rights" and that in April 2006, China submitted a document to the UN in order to support its candidacy to the Human Rights Council's first election[2], in which it affirmed that the amendment to the Constitution was aiming at "defining the position of human rights in the overall national development strategy". The Observatory further wishes to point out that, as a member of the Human Rights Council, China "shall uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights"[3].
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities in the People's Republic of China, urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Teng Biao;
ii. Put an end to any act of harassment against Mr. Teng Biao and all human rights defenders in China;
iii. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels", Article 11 which reads that "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to the lawful exercise of his or her occupation or profession" and Article 12.2, which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration";
iv. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the People's Republic of China.
Addresses:
- Mr. Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China, Guojia Zongli, The State Council General Office, 2 Fuyoujie, Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100017, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 65961109 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- Mr. Wu Aiying, Minister of Justice of the People's Republic of China, Buzhang Sifabu, 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6529 2345, minister@legalinfo.gov.cn / pfmaster@legalinfo.gov.cn
- Mr. Yang Jiechi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Buzhang Waijiaobu, 2 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Beijingshi 100701, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6588 2594, Email: ipc@fmprc.gov.cn;
- Mr. Meng Jianzhu, Minister of Public Security of the People's Republic of China, Buzhang, Gong'anbu, 14 Dongchang'anjie, Dongchengqu, Beijingshi 100741, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 63099216
- Mr. Ma Zhenchuan, Director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau, Juzhang, Beijingshi Gong'anju, 9 Qianmen Dongdajie, Dongchengqu, Beijingshi 100740, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 85222320, Email: wbjc2sohu.com
- Ambassador Sha Zukang, Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China, Chemin de Surville 11, P.O. Box 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2, Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 7937014, E-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int;
- Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Brussels, Avenue de Tervuren, 463 1160 Auderghem, Belgium, Tel: + 32 2 663 30 10 / + 32 2 663 30 17 / +32 2 771 14 97 / +32 2 779 43 33; Fax: +32 2 762 99 66 / +32 2 779 28 95; Email: chinaemb_be@mfa.gov.cn.
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of the People's Republic of China in your respective country.
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Geneva-Paris, March 11, 2008
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[1] For more information on Mr. Hu Jia, please see Observatory Urgent Appeal CHN 009 / 1107 / OBS 141.3, issued on February 1, 2008.
[2] See http://www.un.org/ga/60/elect/hrc/china.pdf.
[3] See OP9 of the General Assembly Resolution A/RES/60/251.
