The PRC’s Universal Periodic Review and the Real State of Human Rights in China

The vast inconsistency between the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) official participation at United Nations human rights reviews and its actual record of gross human rights violations are once again a focus in Geneva at the United Nation’s Human Rights Council. At the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session on January 23, 2024, member states questioned the PRC delegation on the country’s compliance with its obligations under international human rights law. The PRC’s narrative regarding its own record stood in contrast to the reporting of UN treaty bodies and experts and international human rights advocacy organizations, which have documented efforts to deny a voice to independent civil society; harass Chinese, Tibetan, Uyghur, Hong Konger, and other human rights defenders; and coerce Member states to defend the PRC’s practices.

The UPR remains a valuable platform for the international community to publicly call out the PRC on its record of human rights violations and to recommend specific actions for the PRC to comply with its human rights obligations. The Commission will hold a hearing to examine the issues raised at the UPR and the PRC’s response. Expert testimony will highlight tactics the PRC uses to deflect international criticism of its human rights record and to reinterpret international human rights norms. The hearing will also focus on the submissions and recommendations to the UPR process by human rights defenders and civil society which amplify the voices of Chinese citizens, advocates, and victims of PRC repression and provide a fuller picture of human rights conditions in China.  

The hearing can be viewed on the CECC’s YouTube Channel