Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, honourable members. Thank you for inviting us here today to speak on behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
My colleague Ms. Adèle Dion can speak directly to the Canada-China Joint Committee on Human Rights and on Canada's multilateral human rights engagement with China. Mr. Hau Sing Tse will speak about Canada's human rights technical cooperation with China. I will speak to Canada's bilateral human rights engagement with China more generally.
Let me start by addressing the current human rights situation in China. This subcommittee has heard evidence from many witnesses with respect to human rights violations in China, including repression of minority rights and religious freedoms, arbitrary detention and imprisonment, and restrictions on freedom of expression. We share the serious concerns raised by these witnesses.
While we recognize that economic freedoms improved in China over the past 20-some years of reform, continued violations of civil and political rights are of paramount concern. Our key concerns include, but are not limited to, restrictions on freedom of expression, association, and spiritual belief; poor respect for the rule of law and lack of transparency of judicial proceedings; arbitrary detention and treatment of political prisoners; repression of ethnic minorities, especially in Tibet and Xinjiang; police violence and torture; persecution and prosecution of human rights defenders; crackdowns on freedom of the press and intimidation and detention of journalists; a continued ban on independent labour unions and harsh treatment of labour activists; lack of adherence to international standards of free and informed consent in the context of organ transplantations from executed prisoners; reservations to and non-ratification of international human rights conventions, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.
As stated in the Speech from the Throne, the promotion of Canadian values, including human rights and democracy, are important goals of our government. At the officials level, we work to implement this approach. Human rights are not only among the basic Canadian values and principles, but they're also enshrined in international human rights instruments, some of which China has signed on to. It is in this context that we seek to engage China to work towards concrete improvements on the ground.
We have a comprehensive relationship with China and seek to advance all Canadian interests, including human rights, trade, investment, health, security, and other multilateral issues. Engagement is the most effective means of advancing our multi-faceted interests with China, an approach consistent with other like-minded countries.
The more we engage with China on all fronts as part of a comprehensive relationship, the better placed we are to advocate forcefully on human rights. Without engagement, we would lose avenues for dialogue and the means by which to advocate for human rights improvements.
We have a range of tools at our disposal in conducting our human rights advocacy with China, ranging from public statements to official diplomatic representations--notes and démarches--to private government meetings at all levels, and in each situation we assess which tool is the most useful in terms of maximizing results. Using these tools, we express concerns on both systematic issues and on individual cases of concern that are brought to our attention by Canadians and Canadian NGOs.
Our goal is to continually improve the effectiveness of our advocacy to maximize results. We are constantly assessing and re-evaluating our approach based on input from civil society and consultations with like-minded countries and multilateral institutions. In other words, our human rights advocacy is not a “one size fits all” approach, nor is it set in stone.
One recent example where we employed a range of tools was in our response to the incident in which Chinese border guards shot at a group of unarmed Tibetans attempting to cross the border into Nepal. We made official diplomatic representations both in Ottawa and in Beijing and our minister made a strong public statement in the House condemning the unprovoked shooting of unarmed civilians. We remain seized with the issue of the well-being and whereabouts of the children detained during the incident, and continue to follow up with the Chinese government in our efforts to obtain this information.
A separate matter of concern involves the detention of one of our own citizens in China and our ongoing efforts to assure ourselves and his family of his well-being and that his human rights are respected. As the Prime Minister has said, “When it comes to the specific case of a Canadian citizen who's been mistreated, we have an absolute moral obligation to defend those citizens and express our views.”
We also employ a variety of tools to raise individual cases of concern that have been brought to our attention by Canadians and Canadian NGOs. We raise cases involving ethnic minorities, pro-democracy and labour activists, prisoners of conscience, lawyers, journalists, cyber-dissidents, and those with direct Canadian family connections.
The possibility of negative repercussions arising from advocacy on individual cases is of primary concern. It is why, whenever we raise any such case, we do so in close consultation with those who have brought the case to our attention. We also monitor for developments in each case, both positive and negative developments. To our knowledge, none of the cases we have raised have suffered as a result of our advocacy.
How effective is all this? This is a question we are constantly using to evaluate our progress on this front. Measuring and attributing results is a challenge for all like-minded countries. In addition, it is a challenge for one country alone to have a great systematic impact. It is why Canada coordinates with like-minded countries at every opportunity on both systematic issues and key cases of concern.
In fact, we have seen improvements in some cases of concern we have raised. Some prisoners in Canada and like-minded countries have been released early, while others have experienced an improvement in their treatment while in prison. For example, family visitation rights to a Chinese political prisoner were recently reinstated shortly after Canada sent a diplomatic note to the Chinese government requesting this, among other things.
However, we are by no means satisfied with the extent to which China has responded to concerns raised by Canada and the international community. Human rights violations are an ongoing reality in the lives of many Chinese people. We are committed to finding ways by which we can maximize the effectiveness of our efforts to help achieve concrete human rights improvements in China. This is a challenge for us, but it's one we readily accept, because it is the right thing to do.
Thank you.