In recent years, human rights defenders in China have faced increasing intimidation, harassment, arbitrary detention and attacks.

The European Union (EU) and its member states are falling short on their commitment to support and protect human rights defenders (HRDs) who are facing mounting deadly threats and attacks, a new Amnesty International report out today shows.  

Around the world, people are speaking up and working to defend human rights, frequently at risk to their safety, freedom or life. They are harassed and intimidated, unjustly prosecuted and imprisoned. Some are tortured, killed or forcibly disappeared.

The extraction, transport, and trade of minerals have been linked to conflict, corruption, and human rights abuses for decades. The minerals trade has financed armed groups, bankrolled oppressive security forces, facilitated money laundering and corruption, and allowed companies to benefit from serious human rights abuses, like child labour, land-grabbing, and forced evictions. As the world faces climate change, increasing populations and diminishing resources, global supply chains are under increased scrutiny. Whether examining their carbon footprint or links to corruption or other issues, it is clear that many of our supply chains are broken and systemic changes are needed to reform them. This is a global problem that affects us all, and more so communities in producing and trading nations like Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ghana, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Dear High Representative Mogherini,

European Union leaders should press their Chinese counterparts on the deteriorating human rights situation in the country during the EU-China Summit in Brussels on April 9, 2019, five human rights groups said today. They should amplify concerns raised during the EU-China human rights dialogue on April 1-2 and call on Chinese authorities to close “political education” camps in Xinjiang and free imprisoned dissidents.

Dear President Tusk,

01/10/2018 – Letter to EU HR/VP Federica Mogherini to share reports of human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and to call on the European Union (EU) and its member states to urge the Chinese government to take urgent and effective measures to protect Uighurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim people in the XUAR from being arbitrarily detained in “transformation-through-education” facilities in the name of “de-extremification”.

01/10/2018 – Letter to H.E. Ambassador Zhang Ming to express concern about reports on human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and to call on the Chinese government to take urgent and effective measures to protect Uighurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim people in the XUAR from being arbitrarily detained in ‘transformation through education’ facilities in the name of ‘de-extremification’.

While the UN Security Council remains bogged down by politics, the Human Rights Council, with the joint leadership of the European Union and Organization of Islamic Cooperation, has stepped up to the challenge with this serious and constructive approach to pave the way for justice

14/09/2018 – Since October 2016, the Myanmar security forces have driven more than 810,000 Rohingya women, men and children into Bangladesh as a result of successive operations in northern Rakhine State marked by crimes under international law. Security forces killed thousands of Rohingya women, men, and children, raped hundreds of Rohingya women and girls and burned several hundred villages to the ground. Human rights violations, including systematic discrimination and segregation, are ongoing against the Rohingya who remain in Rakhine State, and have forced more than 13,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh since the beginning of 2018.

17/07/2018 – We are writing to urge the European Union (EU) and its member states to ensure accountability for crimes against humanity in Myanmar, and in particular to take the lead in the creation of an international accountability mechanism during the upcoming session on Myanmar at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) in September.