China hints at progress on human rights

Tibetans protesting in Switzerland call for dialogue with China to defend the Tibetan's human rights Keystone Archive

China is willing to improve its human rights record but progress may be slow, according to Swiss delegates returning from talks in Beijing.

“We held very open discussions with our Chinese counterparts – but, of course, a lot of questions remain open,” said Peter Maurer, a high-ranking Foreign Ministry official heading the Swiss delegation.

He was speaking to swissinfo after five days of talks with Chinese officials from various government offices. Their meetings focused on a range of “touchy” issues, including penal law, execution of punishments, religious freedom, rights of minorities and Tibet, Maurer explained.

“We are hopeful that conditions will improve, but we have to be realistic: China is going through a difficult transitional process and there are both forces of resistance and forces willing to reform,” said Maurer.

Judicial reform

“It’s up to China to come to grips with these different forces, but its our intention to support the reform process of the judiciary towards the international human rights norms,” Maurer continued. “But I can’t guess how fast this process will be, and what shape it will take.”

Maurer said he was confident that the latest meeting would lead to closer cooperation between China and Switzerland. The two countries have held five meetings about human rights since 1991.

“We are quite hopeful that close cooperation, especially involving human rights experts from Switzerland, can be established in the future,” Maurer said.

“The latest talks gave us a clear idea on what still has to be done to make China’s legal system more compatible with international human rights legislation,” he said, adding that similar “stock taking” meetings with China would henceforth probably occur on an annual basis.

by Vanessa Mock