§ Baroness Ramsay of Cartvaleasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was discussed at the Human Rights Dialogue held between the United Kingdom and China in November. [HL2063]
§ The Minister for Trade (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)The seventh round of the UK-China Human Rights dialogue took place in London on 19–21 November.
We discussed a wide range of human rights concerns including: Tibet and Xinjiang; freedoms of expression, religion and association; Falun Gong; the abuse of psychiatry; criminal justice issues, including the death penalty, torture and re-education through labour; North Korean refugees; co-operation with UN human rights mechanisms, including visits by special rapporteurs; the ratification of the two Human Rights Covenants and International Labour Organisation Conventions; and the blocking of the BBC World Service website and Mandarin service. We also discussed the programmes of practical co-operation between the UK and China to promote human rights and the rule of law.
We raised 22 individual cases of concern.
As well as the formal talks, we organised two sessions involving outside experts to discuss the role of the media and on the administration of criminal justice. We also arranged for the Chinese delegation to visit the BBC World Service and the Central Criminal Court.