Report on China’s Promotion of Torture submitted to the UN Committee against Torture

Media Alert

Report on China’s Promotion of Torture submitted to the
UN Committee against Torture

San Diego, CA, Nov 05 – The Conscience Foundation has submitted a report to the United Nations Committee against Torture (the Committee) asking it to examine the Chinese government’s promotion of the use of torture against non-conforming groups as well as the general public. The Committee is scheduled to examine China’s implementation of the Convention against Torture (the Convention) on November 7 and 10, 2008, during its 41st session in Geneva.

China has been a state party to the Convention since 1988. Every four years, it is obliged to submit a report to the Convention’s official monitoring body for its consideration. China stalled and got away with its 2004 state report. The Committee routinely accepts NGO reports that shadow and comment on reports from states that are a party to the Convention.

In its shadow report, the Conscience Foundation presented evidence to the Committee on how the Chinese government has institutionalized a policy to “completely eradicate” Falun Gong, disseminating instructions that “no measure is too excessive against Falun Gong,” encouraging and rewarding police for torturing Falun Gong practitioners, organizing torturers to exchange torture methods, retaliating against victims for exposing torture acts, and committing other egregious violations of the Convention. Yet in its state report, China claims to have “taken further effective legislative, administrative and judicial measures to prevent acts of torture.” The Conscience Foundation pointed out that China’s passage of legislation to persecute Falun Gong and other non-conforming groups and, at the same time, to “protect” human rights says only one thing: the Chinese regime can create any law it wants while not respecting it.

The Conscience Foundation further stressed that China’s pretentious progress in legislation and promises on human rights improvement should no longer be commented on or encouraged, for they are not genuine, but only an armor of lies to deflect and deceive international scrutiny of China’s deteriorating human rights condition.

The Conscience Foundation alerted the Committee that, while the Chinese regime’s promotion of the use of torture may originally have been aimed at non-conforming groups, a governing system and law enforcement body that has been conditioned to use torture and violence will not know how to stop. A dangerous culture of violence is pervading China. Various levels of authorities have used police and hired thugs to silence petitioners, victims of forcible relocation, earthquake victims, and victims of bad governance in general. Likewise, businesses, people with connections to government, and local overlords have learned to bribe the police or hire thugs to silence the disadvantaged and abused. Methods that have been used against non-conforming groups are now copied and used against other victims.

Eighteen other NGOs have submitted shadow reports on China, highlighting China’s problem of rampant torture. In contrast, six other countries that will be examined by the Committee in the same session received only twelve shadow reports all together.

Look here for a copy of the report:

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/cats41.htm

When you click, you will get this page.
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/ngos/CFFalunShadowReport_China_cat41.pdf