EU Statement at the 41st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council
Item 4 – Human Rights situation that require the Council’s attention
3 July 2019
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“During the 21st EU-China Summit, the EU and China reaffirmed that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. The EU calls on China to uphold its national and international obligations and to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including Freedom of Religion or Belief, most notably in Xinjiang and Tibet. The EU is concerned about the existence of political re-education camps, widespread surveillance and restrictions particularly targeted at Uyghurs, and we urge China to allow meaningful access for independent observers, including for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The EU continues to be gravely concerned about the detentions and trials of human rights defenders and lawyers including Wang Quangzhang, Yu Wensheng, Qin Yongmin, Gao Zhisheng, Ilham Tohti, Huang Qi, Tashi Wangchuk, Li Yuhan, and Wu Gan. The continued detention of EU national Gui Minhai is of serious concern and we call for his immediate release. The EU urges China to thoroughly investigate reported cases of mistreatment and torture of human rights defenders and their families. The EU urges China to respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in its entirety including in the case of detention and sentencing of foreign citizens.”
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