AMNESTY International has initiated a worldwide campaign on human rights violations in China and has called for a strong resolution condemning China's record at the UN Commission for Human Rights in Geneva this week.
Ireland supports the passing of a resolution, but some EU member states are under pressure to block a motion, Ms Mary Lawlor, director of Amnesty International's Irish section, said yesterday. Ireland has observer status at the commission, she added.
Despite sporadic international protest over violations, governments have failed to condemn consistently China's actions for fear of jeopardising investment opportunities in the world's fastest growing economy, according to Amnesty.
"Economic reforms have not been matched there by essential human rights reforms," Ms Lawlor said. "The harsh reality is that repression has increased in recent years, and the government continues to clamp down brutally on anything it perceives as a threat to the established order."
A major theme of Amnesty International's campaign is criticism of the arbitrary methods by which Chinese officials are said to apply their country's laws. A 110-page report published by Amnesty last week, No One is Safe, gives details of various aspects of this abuse of power by officials who, it says, "know they can act with impunity." Amnesty identifies one of the worst aspects of this abuse as the widespread use of torture.
Victims include people who are not suspected of any crime, but who become involved in disputes with officials or attempt to defend their rights. The lack of effective safeguards means that anyone can be at risk, the organisation says.
The Chinese authorities are applying the death penalty increasingly as a tool to try and deal with social problems, Amnesty says.
"More people are executed in China every year than in the rest of the world put together," it says.
