U.N.'s Robinson in China to sign rights pact

BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- United Nations human rights chief Mary Robinson arrived in Beijing on Monday for meetings expected to produce a landmark agreement on rights cooperation with China.

The memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation, to be signed in Beijing on Monday, would cover areas including administration of justice and human rights education in schools, the spokesman for her Geneva-based office said last week.

The breakthrough came after two years of discussions between the Office of the High Commissioner and the world's most populous country, which some Western nations and most human rights groups accuse of violating political and religious freedoms.

It also follows an announcement last week that U.S. President Bill Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin reached an agreement in principle to resume human rights talks frozen since last year.

MESSAGE BOARD Share your thoughts on today's events in China

Signing the memorandum on technical cooperation was the main purpose of Robinson's third visit to China since 1998, U.N. rights spokesman Jose Diaz told reporters in Geneva.

"The significance is that this is the first time we have had a formal agreement with China on cooperation in the field of human rights," he said.

The agreement "bodes well for the future of human rights in China," Diaz said.

In September 1998, Robinson clinched a memorandum of intent, the first step in cooperation with a country. In March 1999, a U.N. technical mission returned to China to assess needs.

Robinson came to China in February-March this year for further talks, but failed to clinch the memorandum of understanding.

The United Nations has technical cooperation agreements with about 50 countries, ranging from Sudan to Guatemala.

Typical projects include providing U.N. training for members of the armed forces, police, prison authorities and legal officials. Advisory services are offered on how to incorporate international human rights standards into national laws.

The China agreement would also be expected to cover preparing for ratification of two key international human rights treaties -- one guaranteeing civil and political rights and the other on economic, social and cultural rights.

China has signed both, but is yet to ratify them.

Robinson, a former Irish president, is due to meet Jiang Zemin and Vice-Premier Qian Qichen during her two-day trip.

She will then head to Indonesia for two days of talks on East Timor and other issues with Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid and Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Report: China suppresses political dissent despite economic success
September 4, 2000
Critics urge U.N. to condemn China's human rights record
April 17, 2000
China exults in victory before UN human rights panel
April 24, 1999
U.N. human rights panel refuses to censure China
April 23, 1999
Tough talk but no agreement on China human rights
March 2, 1999
U.S. won't push for China human rights censure
March 14, 1998
U.S. to take China to task on human rights
February 28, 1999

China - CIA World Factbook
Inside China Today
Chinese Embassy in Washington DC
United Nations Home Page
   •Universal Declararion of Human Rights
   •United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Amnesty International

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.