U.S. Mission to International
Organizations in Geneva

U.S. Statement at the UPR of China

Delivered by
Uzra Zeya
Acting Assistant Secretary
for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor

17th Session October 22, 2013

The United States welcomes the Chinese delegation.

We recommend China:

1.  End the use of harassment, detention, arrest, and extralegal measures such as enforced disappearance to control and silence human rights activists as well as their family members and friends;
2. Protect the rights of ethnic minority groups, including Tibetans, Uighurs, and Mongolians, in accordance with China’s Constitution and international human rights commitments;
3. Reform its administrative justice system, including by eliminating “reeducation through labor,” and ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

We are concerned that China suppresses freedoms of assembly, association, religion, and expression, including on the Internet; harasses, detains, and punishes activists, including Xu Zhiyong and Yang Maodong; targets rights defenders’ family members and friends; and implements policies that undermine the human rights of ethnic minorities.

Thank you.

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