HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS TO VISIT CHINA FROM 7 TO 15 SEPTEMBER 1998

HR/98/65
4 September 1998



The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, will visit the People's Republic of China from 7 to 15 September 1998 at the invitation of the Government.

The visit, the first by a High Commissioner for Human Rights to China, comes as part of a process of constructive dialogue with the Government and people of China on human rights. The High Commissioner is expected to discuss with the Chinese authorities a broad range of human rights issues, including the ratification of international human rights instruments and further cooperation with the United Nations and its various mechanisms in the field of human rights.

The official programme opens on 7 September, when Mrs. Robinson will sign a Memorandum of Intent for the development of technical cooperation activities between the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Government of China. On that day, she will also participate in a national workshop on reporting obligations under the two main international covenants on human rights. On 9 September, she will participate in the launch in Beijing of the 1998 United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report.

On 14 September, the High Commissioner will meet with President Jiang Zemin and Deputy Premier Qian Qichen.

During the visit, the High Commissioner will meet senior officials from the Ministries of Justice, Labour and Social Security and others to review the implementation of China's commitments under different international human rights instruments. A broad objective will be to promote a culture of human rights and human rights education. The visit takes place in the context of the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ongoing five-year review of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights.

The High Commissioner will also meet representatives of the Supreme People's Court, as well as with members of Parliament, representatives of non-governmental organizations, including women's groups, and representatives of academic institutions and civil society at large.

The High Commissioner's programme includes visits to Tibet, where she plans to meet representatives of civil society as well as local Government and religious authorities and groups; and to Shanghai, where she wishes to meet representatives of the local Government and representatives of civil society.

The process of dialogue the visit aims to encourage will continue with follow-up action foreseen as part of the implementation of the Memorandum of Intent and should result in working-level visits as well as in human rights projects.

The visit to China comes within the framework of the High Commissioner's mandate, which calls for dialogue with all Governments with a view to securing respect for human rights everywhere; and for the enhancement of international cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights.