China ratifies U.N. workers' rights treaty

Robinson had urged Chinese officials to ratify the convention

BEIJING, China -- Human rights activists are lauding China's ratification of a United Nations convention that calls for Beijing to allow workers to go on strike.

Dissidents and human rights activists believe the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights sets an important moral standard for a government that has jailed labor activists.

The treaty was passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress after a visit by U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson.

She had urged China to ratify the convention without reservations, because it was opposed to one article, which allows workers to form independent trade unions.

After ratifying the pact, China said its government "would assume the obligations (of the article) in line with relevant provisions of (its) Constitution, Trade Union Law, and Labor Law."

Human rights workers say they don't understand what that statement means, while U.N. officials in Geneva are waiting to see the official Chinese copy of the ratified pact.

Chinese workers are presently not allowed to form labor unions outside the government-sponsored All-China Federation of Trade Unions.

In December, labor activist Cao Maobing was committed to a mental institution after he tried to form an independent labor union at a silk factory in eastern China.

Cautious optimism

There was cautious optimism among human rights and labor rights activists after Beijing's move to ratify the convention, which it signed in 1998, along with a companion treaty on political rights.

The second convention has yet to be submitted to China's parliament.

Critics believe China will not be able to abide by the convention

"(The treaty) will allow us to say, you signed the pact, but you're not implementing it," said dissident Ren Wanding, who has spent a total of 11 years in prison.

Labor activist Han Dongfang, who was jailed in 1989 for forming an independent union praised the Chinese for ratifying the covenant.

But he too, was doubtful the government would live up to its commitments. "They say they agree with and will abide by the article (allowing free trade unions) and this is good. But what I'm worried about is what will happen when workers actually try to do this," Han said.

Critics believe China's move to ratify the treaty was timed to diffuse international criticism over its human rights record.

Earlier this week, the United States and the United Nations both commented on what they see as China's deteriorating human rights record.

The U.N. is also set to hold its annual human rights conference in two weeks, where the U.S. has said it will sponsor a motion to censure China for human rights abuses.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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