Reports on the 2004 Seminars now available

An EU-China Human Rights Network Seminar was held in Colchester, Essex, UK on 27-28 April 2004. The Agenda, a List of Participants and the papers presented at the Seminar are available on this site. Click here to view.

An EU-China Human Rights Dialogue Seminar was held in Beijing on 28-29 June 2004. The Agenda, a List of Participants and the papers presented at the Seminar are available on this site. Click here to view.

An EU-China Human Rights Network Seminar was held in Beijing on 26-27 September 2004. The Agenda, a List of Participants and the papers presented at the Seminar are available on this site. Click here to view.

An EU-China Human Rights Dialogue Seminar was held under the Dutch Presidency of the European Union in The Hague on 8-9 November 2004. The Agenda, a List of Participants and the papers presented at the Seminar are available on this site. Click here to view.

Newsletter, June 2004 now available

Dates announced for Beijing Network Seminar and training session in Guizhou

The dates of the upcoming EU-China Network Seminar have been agreed. The topic chosen for discussion is 'Gender & Law'. This two-day seminar will be followed by a training workshop in Guizhou , China.

The dates are as follows:

• 26-27 Sept. Network seminar in Beijing
• 28 Sept. Travelling from Beijing to Guizhou
• 29-30 Sept. Training workshop in Guizhou.

The training workshop's main purpose is to provide human rights training to legal practitioners working in China.

Update on Venice Dialogue Seminar

The EU-China Human Rights Dialogue Seminar held under the Italian Presidency of the European Union was the third Dialogue Seminar organised by the EU-China Human Rights Network. The Dialogue Seminar scheduled to be held in May 2003 under the Greek Presidency of the EU was postponed due to the problem of SARS. However, the Italian Dialogue Seminar took up and built on many of the themes and approaches envisaged for that Seminar, and as a result made for a deeper exchange.

The Italian Dialogue Seminar was a highly successful event, involving detailed and forward-looking discussions in a positive, collegial atmosphere. The topics covered were the Judicial Guarantees of Human Rights and Civil Society. There were a number of notable achievements. Firstly, at the Venice Dialogue Seminar the network was given permission to include a full delegation of NGO participants in the working group on civil society. Secondly the practical experience and expertise of NGO participants at the Venice Seminar was instrumental in ensuring a focused and concrete discussion in this group.

In the working group on Judicial Guarantees of Human Rights the discussions of the group were very valuable in addressing and analysing a number of substantive topics such as access to a court and re-education through labour; judicial professionalism in the context of the new unified judicial examination in China, and so on. Work and cooperation will continue to build on these discussions in the future.

A full report on discussions and the papers presented at this seminar will be posted in the seminar and file library sections of this website.

Update on the Essex Network Seminar

The fifth Expert Network Seminar of the EU-China Human Rights Network was held on 27-28 April 2004 at the Human Rights Centre at Essex University in Colchester, United Kingdom. This seminar addressed the topic of Right to Health and the Right to Social Security.

This seminar was previously due to have taken place in May 2003 but was postponed due to the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The expert group in Essex selected six specific areas relating to the Right to Health and right to Social Security for discussion. These areas were:

• Norms and obligations of the right to health under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (hereinafter ICESR);
• Right to health in domestic and regional perspectives;
• Right to health and HIV/Aids; the right to health of women;
• Role and responsibility of healthcare professionals and associations;
• The right to social security;
• The right to social security and vulnerable groups; the right to social security and poverty.

The Chinese Delegation was led by Professor Liu Hainian, Director of the Centre for Human Rights Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; while Professor William Schabas, Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, led the European delegation.

The Seminar was addressed by Professor Paul Hunt, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health and Co director of the Human Rights Unit at the University of Essex.

A full report on discussions and the papers presented at this seminar will be posted in the seminar and file library sections of this website.

Newsletter, November 2003 now available

Dates announced for Venice Dialogue Seminar

The next EU-China Human Rights Dialogue Seminar will be held in Venice, Italy, under the Italian Presidency of the EU. The Seminar will take place from 15-16 December, with a focus on the topics of Judicial Guarantees of Human Rights, and Capacity Building of NGOs. This event will build on the results of previous Network Seminars on Freedom of Association and Access to Justice.

Update on the Beijing Seminar Minority Rights

As indicated in previous news items on this website, during November a Network Seminar and Training Session on the Rights of Minorities were held in China.

Exchanges between participants on this topic were robust, with a particular focus on the challenges facing States as they seek to create legislative systems that can fully accommodate minority groups. In discussion, it became clear that China and European States face many of the same kinds of problems in this connection. A comparative approach was adopted, with an examination of legal remedies in Europe, as well as in the Inter-American and African systems. Methods and strategies for the possible development of an Asian human rights system were also discussed.

A full report on discussions will be posted on this website as soon as possible.

Update on the Galway Seminar on Freedom of Association

As indicated in previous news items on this website, at the beginning of September, the third EU-China Network Seminar was held in Galway on the topic of Freedom of Association. Eleven countries and 16 human rights institutions in all were represented at this Seminar, which was characterised by exceptionally open and frank discussions.

A full public report on the discussions and outcomes of this Seminar will be made available on this website in the near future. However, some of the elements of debate at this Seminar are indicated here:

• Difficulties of terminology and language were highlighted in relation to the concept of civil society. It was agreed that there can be no single model of civil society. However, it was agreed that the term relates to a self-organising, self-generating space for entities and groups separate from the State and big business.
• Distinctions in the legal order as between the city and countryside in China were discussed at some length, together with consideration of how best to address such disparities in the future
• The question of NGO registration was discussed in detail, with an eventual compromise position being that although registration systems are not in themselves objectionable, they must not be oppressive or abusive. Incentives to register were felt to be perfectly reasonable, and the best approach was therefore seen as one of open-mindedness towards the outcome of any particular registration process.
• Extreme restrictions on freedom of association, and conditions under which it is permissible to ban or disband associations were discussed, with the central importance of tolerance in the EU framework on freedom of association being highlighted.
• Valuable insight on the growth and current state of civil society in China was provided by Chinese experts.
• A detailed discussion was held on the topic of Reservations to the UN Human Rights Covenants. Although opinions differed on whether the Chinese statement in relation to Article 8 of ICESCR was a declaration or reservation, it was commonly held by the Group to be legitimate under international law.
• The so-called 'monopoly' position of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions was also discussed in some detail.
• Methods to ensure internal accountability of NGOs and other organisations were also considered.

Publication plans

Plans are advancing for a publication containing reports and select presentations drawn from the events of 2002 and 2003. Further information will be included in the next issue of the Network Newsletter.

Dates announced for Minority Rights Seminar

The dates of the upcoming Network Seminar on the Rights of Minorities have been agreed.

The Seminar will take place in Beijing from 10-11 November 2003. A Training Session on the same topic will follow this event.

Further information, including list of participants and agenda of the meeting, will be posted on this website in the near future.

Network Seminar on Freedom of Association

A Network Seminar on Freedom of Association was held at the National University of Ireland, Galway, from 1-2 September.

Issues discussed included the role and function of civil society organisations, regulations concerning the set-up and operation of NGOs, trade union rights, and the relationship between civil society and the market economy.

This was the second meeting of the EU-China Human Rights Network to be held in Galway. Some of the foremost human rights experts from Europe and China attended the meeting, with eleven countries and 16 human rights institutions represented in all. The Chinese Delegation was led by Professor Liu Hainian, Director of the Centre for Human Rights Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; while Professor William Schabas, Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, led the European delegation.

A public report on the discussions and outcomes of this Seminar is under preparation, and will be available on this website in the near future.

Beijing Dialogue Seminar postponed

The EU-China Dialogue Seminar scheduled to take place in Beijing from 29-30 May 2003 has been postponed.

This decision was taken by the European Commission due to the continuing outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Beijing and some surrounding areas. We fully support this as the most appropriate action at this time.

We have been advised by the Commission that a decision on new dates for the Seminar will be taken in due course, based on the health situation as it evolves. Further information will be posted on this website as soon as possible. (NM)

Essex Network Seminar postponed

The EU-China Network Seminar on Freedom of Association scheduled to take place at the University of Essex from 1-2 May 2003 has been postponed.

This decision was jointly taken by the partner universities in Europe and China due to the continuing outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The Essex Seminar will be rescheduled for later this year - new dates for this event will be posted on this website as soon as possible. (NM)

Upcoming Events, May 2003

The dates and topics of the next two events organised by the EU-China Human Rights Network have been agreed.

The third Network Seminar will be held at the University of Essex on 1-2 May 2003. The topic of this Seminar will be Freedom of Association.

The next Dialogue Seminar has been scheduled for 29-30 May 2003 - the topics of this event will be Judicial Guarantees of Human Rights; and Civil Society. The results and recommendations of the previous March 2003 Network Seminar on Access to Justice will feed into this event, as will the discussions of the upcoming Essex Seminar on Freedom of Association.

Further information will soon be available on these events. (NM)