Vol. 533 No. 2
21 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on whether it is appropriate that the Olympics be staged in China in 2008 in view of the ongoing substantial abuses of human rights in China and recent reports detailing such abuses. [8278/01]
The decision on where to hold the 2008 Olympics is made solely by the International Olympic Committee, IOC. Governments do not have a role in this process.
Beijing is one of five candidates currently being considered by the IOC and it is my understanding that the final decision will be made in July.
With regard to the observance of human rights in China, the Government remains very concerned about the situation in a number of areas. We have repeatedly expressed our concerns to the Chinese authorities, both bilaterally and through the EU-China human rights dialogue.
This dialogue is our preferred channel for working to improve the human rights situation. At the General Affairs Council of 22-23 January, the EU took a number of decisions to improve the dialogue. It was decided to intensify it, focus it better and assess it on a continuous basis. A number of specific areas were highlighted for priority attention by the EU, including reform of administrative detention, respect for the fundamental rights of all prisoners, untrammelled exercise of freedom of religion and belief both public and private, respect for the right to organise, and respect for cultural rights and religious freedoms. The most recent session of the EU-China human rights dialogue took place on 22-23 February.
On 28 February, the Chinese authorities announced their decision to ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, ICESCR. Together with my European partners, I welcomed this decision and view it as an important starting point for further improvements in the situation of economic, social and cultural rights in China.
