NEWS RELEASES
CANADA-CHINA JOINT COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTSUNDERWAY IN BEIJING
November 9, 1999 (10:00 a.m. EST) No. 244
CANADA-CHINA JOINT COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS
UNDERWAY IN BEIJING
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific)
Raymond Chan today announced that the fourth meeting of the Canada-China Joint
Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) is underway in Beijing on November 8 and 9.
"The Joint Committee was established as a key component in our human rights
dialogue with China. The Committee provides a forum for promoting Canada's
commitment to human rights observance and democratic development in China,"
said Minister Axworthy. "The Chinese government is well aware of our interest in
areas such as civil and political rights, as well as economic, social and cultural
rights."
"Our delegation will also raise specific issues related to religious freedoms and basic
rights and reports of ill-treatment of Falun Gong adherents," said Secretary of State
(Asia-Pacific) Chan. "We are most disturbed at the repression of freedom of belief
and the arrest and detention of so many Falun Gong practitioners."
The JCHR is taking place as a seven-person Canadian religious freedoms
delegation, organized by the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC), completes a
two-week visit to China. Headed by Senator Lois Wilson, former Moderator of the
United Church of Canada, the CCC delegation focussed on the protection of
religious freedoms through UN human rights covenants and the rule of law.
Canada's delegation to the JCHR will visit Tibet following the Beijing meetings. This
will provide an opportunity to raise ongoing concerns about minority rights and the
situation of the Panchen Lama.
Both Mr. Axworthy and Mr. Chan emphasized that the JCHR is key to Canada's
wide-ranging and frank human rights dialogue with China, which also includes
plurilateral symposiums on the legal aspects of human rights and bilateral
consultations with ministers and other officials. The JCHR previously met in Ottawa
in July 1997, in Beijing in October 1997 and in Winnipeg in November 1998. There
have been two Plurilateral Human Rights Symposiums, the first near Vancouver in
March 1998 and the second in Qingdao in July 1999. In addition, Canadian officials
continue to raise concerns with their Chinese counterparts, both in Canada and in
China.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Debora Brown
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Naseem Nuraney
Office of the Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific)
(613) 995-1852
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
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