Human rights are norms or principles that define the standards of human character. Since human rights are protected as legal and natural rights in domestic as well as in international law. Human rights are treated as irreparable inalienable fundamental and basic rights that are inherited to every human being irrespective of their age , ethnic origin ,location, language, religion or any other status.
Human rights are applicable to everyone and at every time as they are considered as universal. Similarly they are regarded as egalitarian in the sense they are same to everyone. Human rights are put in the manner that they ultimately follow the Rule of Law . To which every person is bound to respect the rights of other persons .
The basic idea that animated or probably started the movement of development of Human Rights was during the aftermath of world war second and its holocaust through various declarations and charters .To which every state is bound to be the signatory . Not only to be part of these but they have to follow all the things that are required or mentioned in these declarations. Same goes with the China which has been the signatory to these human rights charters and declarations
China and human rights
Human rights developed during the aftermath of world war II .States were bound to rectify various human rights treaties but that was not the case with China . As they did not rectify these treaties. It was during the 1980’s when China rectified and signed a major range of human rights treaties. After rectification China starts respecting the purpose ,principles of charters of united nation which are related with the protection and promotion of human rights . China has always been a cosponsor country of the Human Rights Commission’s resolution on the right to development.
Since 1980 the Chinese government has successively signed, ratified and acceded to seven UN human rights conventions, namely
- The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,
- The International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crimes of Apartheid,
- The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,
- The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,
- The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
- The Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, and
- The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Human rights violations in china
Over a long period in the UN activities in the human rights field, China has firmly opposed any country making use of the issue of human rights to sell its own values, ideology, political standards and mode of development. Which has ultimately put human rights at stake of its end . In addition to this it has also led to the mass violations and abuses of human rights in China. which had been periodically reported by the united nation human rights committee.
However many other countries their authorities ,international and non international non-governmental organizations inside the country have reported or sanctions of abuses of human rights violation .After 2012 there were more and continues reports coming from the mainland country that there occurs various abuses and violations:
- Legal or Justice System
- Freedom of Speech and Expression
- Freedom Of Religion and Belief
- Freedom Of Economy
- Rights to Sexuality and LGBTI Community
- Human rights defenders
- legal or justice system:
Judiciary and other legal working authorities in any country have been kept separate from Legislature and Executive part .Because of that Judiciary has the ultimate power on the legislature and executive authorities and are always kept under control. So that these two would not misuse their power. But that is not the case with respect to China emphasizes that the legal system should be kept under the supreme leadership of party. Judicial system and law enforcement bodies should be under control of the party. China legalized arbitrary and secret detention, such as “residential surveillance in a designated location” and an extra-judicial system of detention. This process ultimately brought the basic violations and abuses as now there can be detentions and other ill treatment also the forced confessions. By the direct control of law enforcement powers they have implemented new rules and regulation by which the security agencies have given the powers and are exempted from the legal responsibilities for any damage they might cause to the property or interests of individuals or organizations while carrying out their duties.
- Freedom of speech and expression :
Although the Chinese constitution guarantee the freedom of speech and expression the Chinese government often uses the subversion of state powers and protection of state secrets , clauses in their law system to imprison those who criticize the government. The government has strongly clutched its hold on the restrictions to the right to freedom of speech ,expression ,association and peaceful assembly .The authorities have taken serious and rigorous steps by censoring all kinds of media either it is print media,virtual media or online gaming. The authorities continuously take help from private technological and internet companies to monitor the people and keep them under indiscriminate surveillance and control. In addition to that a draft regulation on China’s social credit system proposed punishing citizens for disseminating information that violates social morality or causes adverse social impacts.
- Freedom of Religion and Belief:
In 1982 the Chinese constitution gave its citizens the right to believe in any religion as well as the right to refrain from doing so. After this citizens of Republic of China are free to believe in any religion . No state or organization would compel any person to follow or not to follow a particular religion nor there should be any kind of discrimination against any follower of any religion. But that reality has to be on paper only. There occurs serious kind of violation with regard to religion and belief . The country has taken a step forward and tighten its grip over the Muslims and Christians were pushed with the sinicazation of religion. Many Buddhist and Taoist temples and statues, along with mosques and churches, were damaged or destroyed on the direction of the government. The authorities jailed religious leaders who were not recognized by the party for endangering state security.
Examples of the political controls exercised over religion in 1998 include.
- Quotas on the number of monks to reduce the spiritual population
- The expulsion of unapproved monks from monasteries
- Forced recitation of patriotic scripts supporting China
- Restriction of religious study before age 18.
- Freedom of Economy:
The authorities in China have created a residency permit system defining where the people can work and where not. They have divided the workers in two rural and urban works .This type of system is called Hokou system . In this type of system a worker seeking to move from the country to an urban area to take up non-agricultural work would have to apply through the relevant bureaucratic institutions. There is uncertainty, however, over how strictly the system has been enforced. People who worked outside the region in which they were registered would not qualify for grain rations, employer-provided housing, or health care. There were controls over education, employment, marriage and other areas of life. Laws were enacted in 2007 to protect private property, with the exception of land. Nevertheless, according to Der Spiegel magazine, local Chinese authorities have used brutal means to expropriate property, in a bid to profit from the construction boom.
- Rights Related to Sexuality and LGBTI Community:
When all over the world rights related to sexuality and rights of LGBTI community have been recognized . At the same time in china these rights were totally denied. Since china does not recognize the same sex marriage nor civil union. Intersex people in China suffer discrimination, lack of access to health care and coercive genital surgeries. LGBTI people continued to face discrimination at home, at work, in schools and in public. The authorities accepted and claimed to have implemented all recommendations on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression at the end of the country’s review process in the third cycle of the UN Universal Periodic Review in 2018. Two recommendations requested prohibition against discrimination in legislation, but there is no law that explicitly protects LGBTI people from discrimination.
- Human rights defenders:
People who are activists and work for the rights of others feel that their space to work is continuously shrinking. The authorities systematically subjected HRDs to surveillance, harassment, intimidation, detention and imprisonment. These activities are prosecuted on false and vague charges of subverting the state powers and provoking of troubles. Similarly Authorities retaliated against citizen journalists and NGO workers reporting on human rights violations. In addition to that Family members of human rights defenders were also subject to police surveillance, harassment and restrictions on their freedom of movement.
Although there are various laws and regulations which regulate and ensure the basic human rights. That guaranteed through various treaties and charters to which the china has been a signatory party and also has rectified these rules and laws .still in presence of these there occurs numerous human rights violations which have been reported by other countries and organizations from time to time . China has to take a step forward and work for the betterment and upliftment of various human rights.If they have to uplift their derogating and declining image of human right abusers they have to move ahead of communal idealogy and do and preach the thing that are written in their constitution. They have to provide the equal opportunities to everyone in all fields irrespective of his religion caste,age ,sex .
