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After more than four years, Switzerland is again talking to China about the human rights situation in both countries. According to a State Department press release, the so-called human rights dialogue was about civil and political rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law. “Human rights violations in specific contexts, such as against the Tibetan and Uyghur populations and the situation in Hong Kong, but also several individual cases were discussed.”
Explosive is who was not at the table. In addition to representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Interior, employees from the Federal Office of Justice and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs were also present for Switzerland – but not five non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International.
Since the meeting took place in Bern, Switzerland was responsible for setting the agenda and actually wanted human rights organizations to attend, writes the “Tages-Anzeiger”.
U-turn after Russian veto?
They were invited, according to a press release from five NGOs. But then the turnaround. This invitation was withdrawn after an apparent Chinese veto.
The State Department has not yet responded to Blick’s request for comment.
The human rights dialogue has existed since 1991, but was discontinued after 2018 because Switzerland criticized China’s actions against the Uyghurs. The pandemic was later cited as the reason for the cancellation.
Chinese are allowed to criticize Switzerland
In the dialogue with the Chinese, the two delegations sit opposite each other and discuss human rights problems in the other country, writes the “Tages-Anzeiger”. The Chinese can therefore also accuse Switzerland of misconduct.
The five human rights organizations expressed their regret about the cancellation. “The Chinese government has missed a rare opportunity to have difficult human rights talks,” said Raphael Viana David of the International Service for Human Rights. (brother)
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
