EU foreign ministers agreed late Tuesday to express the bloc's "deep concern over the serious violations of human rights in China and the lack of progress in a number of areas", according to conclusions released on the first day of a two-day ministerial meeting.
The ministers identified a host of concerns in China including use of torture, the death penalty, Tibet, the Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang, the Falungong spiritual movement and the government's "strike-hard" campaign against crime.
More than 1,000 Falungong followers protested Monday in Geneva as delegates opened the annual session of the UN's top human rights forum.
The EU ministers said that if another country were to push a resolution condemning China's record at the UNCHR session, "EU members of the Commission will consider favourably voting for its adoption".
China's communist leaders have reacted furiously in the past to UNCHR resolutions critical of their record on human rights.
The EU also vowed to block any attempt by China to veto such a resolution through a procedural step known as a "no-action motion", under which the UN body agrees to strike down a resolution before it even gets to a vote.
Their conclusions said that "in the EU's view, the very notion of no-action is in itself contrary to the spirit of dialogue".
The United States has yet to say whether it will sponsor an anti-China resolution at the Geneva meeting.
State Department spokeswoman Amanda Batt said Monday that Washington and Beijing were now engaged in a high-level bilateral dialogue on human rights including what US officials describe as Chinese "backsliding" on previous commitments.
The EU has also launched a human-rights dialogue with China which most recently saw officials meet in Athens on March 5-6.
"However, this dialogue is an acceptable option only if enough progress is achieved and reflected on the ground," the foreign ministers said.
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http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/bq/Qun-rights-eu-china.RKO-_DMJ.html
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