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106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. RES. 45

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the human rights situation

in the People’s Republic of China.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 12, 1999

Mr. HUTCHINSON (for himself, Mr. WELLSTONE, Mr. MACK, Mr. FEINGOLD,

Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. HELMS, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. LOTT,

Mr. INHOFE, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. ASHCROFT, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. KYL, Mr.

BROWNBACK, and Mr. LUGAR) submitted the following resolution; which

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate 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, according to the United States Department of State

and international human rights organizations, the Government of the People’s Republic of China continues to

commit widespread and well-documented human rights

abuses in China and Tibet and continues the coercive im-
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SRES 45 IS1S

plementation of family planning policies and the sale of

human organs taken from executed prisoners;

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 recently signed the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but

has yet to take the steps necessary to make the covenant

legally binding;

Whereas the President decided not to sponsor a resolution

criticizing the People’s Republic of China at the United

Nations Human Rights Commission in 1998 in consideration of commitments by the Government of the People’s

Republic of China to sign the International Covenant on

Civil and Political Rights and based on a belief that

progress on human rights in the People’s Republic of

China could be achieved through other means;

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 associated with attempts to organize a legal democratic opposition, as well as religious leaders, writers, and others

who petitioned the authorities to release those arbitrarily

arrested; and

Whereas these efforts underscore that the Government of the

People’s Republic of China continues to commit serious
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SRES 45 IS1S

human rights abuses, despite expectations to the contrary

following two summit meetings between President Clinton

and President Jiang in which assurances were made regarding improvements in the human rights record of the

People’s Republic of China: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that at

2 the 55th Session of the United Nations Human Rights

3 Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, the United States

4 should introduce and make all efforts necessary to pass

5 a resolution calling upon the People’s Republic of China

6 to end its human rights abuses in China and Tibet.

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