China Tells U.N. Panel That It Respects Rights [View All]

[Coventina]

Source: Washington Post

United Nations delegates took China to task on its human rights record Monday, pressing officials about Tibet, labor camps, the death penalty, torture in custody and the treatment of dissidents, in a U.N. rights panel's first full review of the country's progress.

The Chinese delegation, led by Ambassador Li Baodong, defended the government's treatment of citizens, telling the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva that people in China are free to voice their opinions to the media and that the government opposes torture.

The questioning session was part of a review program started in 2007 that will examine all U.N. member states every four years.

In a report submitted before the proceedings, China emphasized that it believes human rights are related to economic growth. As standards of living have improved, it argues, so have political participation and the robustness of the judicial system.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/09/AR2009020901565.html?hpid=sec-world