soc.culture.asian.american

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-03-26-voa57.cfm

China, Others Rebuked in Britain's Human Rights Report
By Tendai Maphosa
London
26 March 2008

As China prepares to host the Summer Olympics in August, it has come
under increasing international scrutiny and criticism for its
crackdown in Tibet and for its human rights record in general. The
British Foreign Office, in its annual human rights report, said
Wednesday that China's poor human rights record overshadows the
country's considerable economic achievements. Tendai Maphosa attended
Foreign Secretary David Miliband's launch of the report and filed this
report for VOA.


Chinese police officers check vehicles at a checkpoint on a road
leading to Lhasa, 26 Mar 2008
The human rights report is wordwide - from forced marriages in
Britain's immigrant communities to human rights abuses in countries
including Burma, Afghanistan, Iran and China.

Presenting the report, Foreign Secretary David Milband said China has
made tremendous economic progress but has a long way to go regarding
human rights.

"China is a striking example here, a country which has lifted more
people out of poverty than any in human history, but now faces the
urgent challenge of expanding the political and social rights of its
people to match the economic and social progress which has been made.
And, it is in all of our interests that they succeed, and that is why
we will keep arguing frankly and directly for greater human rights in
China," he said.

But Miliband said a boycott of the Summer Olympics in Beijing to
protest the situation would not improve human rights in China.

In Afghanistan, the report calls for improvements in overall
governance, freedom of expression, women's rights and the judicial
system.

In Burma, the report says, the human rights record continues to
deteriorate. It describes the situation as bleak, citing in particular
the crackdown last year on anti-government, pro-democracy
demonstrations.

The report also says human rights in Iran continued to deteriorate
over the past year with further restrictions on freedom of expression,
association and any form of dissent.

The report says no country has a perfect human rights record and cites
the United States' prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Miliband said the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States
and subsequent terrorist attacks elsewhere, including in Britain,
changed the consciousness of the world. But, he said, he disagrees
that human rights should be set aside when combating terrorism.

"That's why, for example.... it's our clear policy never to be
complicit in torture or rendition to torture. That's why we need to
ensure that we adhere to all our commitments to human rights at home
and abroad," he said.

The human rights report lists 21 countries of particular concern -
including Burma, China, Iraq and Zimbabwe. North Korea, Russia, Israel/
Palestine and China are also highlighted, as are trouble spots such
Tibet, Sudan, Pakistan and Nepal.