III

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. RES. 271

Regarding the human rights situation in the People’s Republic of China.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 9, 2000

Mr. WELLSTONE (for himself, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. FEINGOLD,

and Mr. BROWNBACK) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

RESOLUTION

Regarding the human rights situation in the People’s

Republic of China.

Whereas the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, provides

a forum for discussing human rights and expressing

international support for improved human rights performance;

Whereas in 1999, the Senate passed Senate Resolution 45

urging the United States to introduce and make all necessary efforts to pass a resolution condemning human

rights practices of the Government of the People’s Republic of China at the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland;
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Whereas the United States thereafter introduced a resolution

condemning human rights practices of the Government of

the People’s Republic of China at the annual meeting of

the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland;

Whereas this resolution was kept off the agenda of the full

Commission by a ‘‘no-action’’ motion of the Government

of the People’s Republic of China, had no cosponsors,

and received little support from European and other industrialized nations and did not pass;

Whereas, according to the Department of State and international human rights organizations, the human rights

record of the Government of the People’s Republic of

China has deteriorated sharply over the past year and

authorities of the People’s Republic of China continue to

commit widespread and well-documented human rights

abuses in China;

Whereas such abuses stem from an intolerance of dissent and

fear of civil unrest on the part of authorities in the People’s Republic of China and from a failure to adequately

enforce laws in the People’s Republic of China that protect basic freedoms;

Whereas such abuses violate internationally accepted norms

of conduct enshrined by the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights;

Whereas the People’s Republic of China has signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but has

yet to take the necessary steps to make it legally binding;

Whereas authorities in the People’s Republic of China have

recently escalated efforts to extinguish expressions of protest or criticism and have detained scores of citizens asso-
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ciated with attempts to organize a legal democratic opposition, as well as religious leaders, academics, and members of minority groups;

Whereas these efforts underscore that the Government of the

People’s Republic of China continues to commit serious

human rights abuses that must be condemned; and

Whereas the United States will again introduce a resolution

condemning human rights practices of the Government of

the People’s Republic of China at the annual meeting of

the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 20, 2000: Now, therefore,

be it

1 Resolved, That (a) the Senate supports the decision

2 of the Administration to introduce a resolution at the 56th

3 Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission

4 in Geneva, Switzerland, calling upon the People’s Republic

5 of China to end its human rights abuses.

6 (b) It is the sense of the Senate that the United

7 States should make every effort necessary to pass such

8 a resolution, including through initiating high level contact

9 between the Administration and representatives of the Eu10 ropean Union and other governments, and ensuring that

11 the resolution be placed on the full United Nations Human

12 Rights Commission’s agenda by aggressively enlisting sup13 port for the resolution and soliciting cosponsorship of it

14 by other governments.

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