By David Volodzko
China continues to stonewall investigations into human rights abuses.
The 56th session of the United Nations Convention against Torture (CAT) was held in Geneva this year from November 9 to December 9, where a Chinese delegation was present to testify to the progress its nation has made and explain away the human rights violations it continues to make.
China has ratified international conventions against racial discrimination, discrimination against women, and torture and inhuman punishment, yet in each case it objected to relevant stipulations that when disputes with other state parties lead to an impasse, these cases are to be submitted for arbitration to the International Court of Justice.
China doesn’t accept the ICJ’s jurisdiction. As a former victim of British, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and American imperialism, Beijing is understandably wary of adjudicative processes in which a third party determines the outcome, as opposed to consensual processes such as collaborative law or negotiation, which allow China to ride herd on its own affairs.
Refusing adjudication wouldn’t necessarily be problematic if China’s negotiation tactics amounted to more than stonewalling, but they rarely do. Instead, China offers a Hobson’s choice — take it or leave it — which became blindingly clear at this year’s CAT.
Read the full story at The Diplomat