On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture we call once again to stop torture in all its form and to respond the plight of all those that have been exposed to this terrible and inhumane practice, and of their families and loved ones. Our thoughts also go to all those who engage tirelessly in combatting torture, raising awareness and caring for its victims, sometimes putting their own safety and lives at risk. Listening to the victims of torture makes us understand better how to fight it. 

Torture is unequivocally prohibited under international law, under all circumstances and without exceptions. Still the fight to eradicate it is far from won. The EU’s firm commitment to fight torture and ill-treatment wherever it occurs is enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and reconfirmed and outlined in the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy of 2015-2019. To achieve this objective, the EU is actively building coalitions with partners and civil society. Only Last December we marked Human Rights Day organizing the 2016 EU-NGO Human Rights Forum with a focus on preventing, prohibiting, and redressing torture globally. 

Fighting torture is not only about raising awareness, it is about effective action. The EU continues to work towards promoting victims’ right to rehabilitation and to other means of redress; introducing safeguards at all stages of deprivation of freedom, opening up all places where people are detained for monitoring; investigating allegations of torture effectively and independently and bringing perpetrators to justice. The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) is a leading source of funding for rehabilitation of victims and the prevention of torture worldwide. In 2017, it will finance several new civil society projects devoted to the fight against torture and ill-treatment for an overall amount of EUR 13.5 million. 

Today, we also want to express the EU support for the work done by the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, by the UN Special Rapporteur and the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and urge partners to contribute to their work. The EU promotes the objective of the Convention against Torture Initiative to achieve global ratification and implementation of the UN Convention against torture by 2024, aiming at the full eradication of torture. 

It’s our conviction that respect for fundamental freedoms and rights, promotion of inclusive societies and support to open and vibrant civil societies is the only way to guarantee sustainable stability and security.  The EU will continue to work together with our international and regional partners to make torture a thing of the past and to be at the forefront of the global and united efforts to eradicate torture.

Yesterday, on the last Friday of Ramadan, terror attacks once again hit Pakistan, claiming more than 50 lives and leaving 120 people injured in Quetta and in two consecutive blasts in Parachinar calculated to maximise the number of victims.

We extend our condolences to the families and friends of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured. Our hearts are with the people of Pakistan as we mourn with them this devastating loss.

The European Union strongly condemns terrorism in all its forms and will continue to work with Pakistan in the fight against this global threat.

The 35th round of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue was held in Brussels on 22-23 June. The two-day programme included the meeting of the Dialogue on the first day, and round-table discussions between European and Chinese participants, including Members of the European Parliament, representatives from civil society and academia, as well as a field visit to the refugee centre Bruxelles-Petit-Château on the second day.

The meetings allowed for candid discussions on a wide range of human rights related issues and cases of concern.

During the Dialogue, the European Union emphasised the deteriorating situation for civil and political rights in China, which has been accompanied by the detention and conviction of a significant number of Chinese human rights defenders and lawyers. Restrictions on the freedom of expression in China, and systemic issues in the criminal justice system, including cases of arbitrary detention and allegations of torture, were also raised by the European Union. In addition, the two sides discussed migration and the rights of refugees, the freedom of religion and belief, the rights of persons belonging to minorities, especially in Tibet and Xinjiang, and the freedom of peaceful assembly and association, including the implementation of China’s Foreign NGO Activity Management Law.

The Human Rights Dialogue provided an opportunity for the European Union to raise the cases of human rights defenders whose detention and conviction by the Chinese authorities is incompatible with the nature of their work to promote human rights. The expectation of the European Union, as reiterated in the Dialogue, is that all individuals detained in connection with their advocacy of human rights be released from custody, that they should be allowed to be represented by a lawyer of their choosing, be given the possibility of meeting their family members, have access to appropriate medical assistance when required, and have allegations of their mistreatment promptly investigated. The cases raised by the European Union included:

•  Political prisoners Liu Xiaobo and Illham Tohti;
• Human rights lawyers Jiang Tianyong, Wang Quanzhang and Xie Yang;
• Individuals imprisoned in connection with their exercise of the universally-recognised right to freedom of expression, including Lu Yuyu, Zhang Haitao, Lû Gengsong, and Huang Zerong;
• Individuals persecuted for their religious beliefs, including Hu Shigen, Huang Yizi, Shao Zhumin, Li Guozhi, Gu Yuese and Zhang Shaojie.
• Individuals detained or sentenced in connection with their activities in promoting freedom of association, including Tashi Dorje, Meng Han, Xu Zhiyong and Gou Feixiong
• Tibetan activists, writers and religious figures who face criminal charges or have been imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of expression, including Tashi Wangchuk, Druklo and Lobsang Kunchok.

Cooperation in international fora and the need to implement recommendations from international bodies, particularly recommendations which China received during its most recent UN Universal Periodic Review in 2013, were also discussed.

During the roundtable discussion, participants discussed the EU’s and China’s respective policies and practices for promoting and protecting human rights, including the role played by legislators, civil society and academia.

The European Union’s delegation was led by Ms Paola Pampaloni, Deputy Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific in the European External Action Service. The Chinese delegation was led by Ms Liu Hua, Special Representative for Human Rights and Deputy Director General for International Organisations and Conferences, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.