During a press briefing in Brussels, Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth accuses the EU of “cowardice” for claiming to tackle human rights abuses in China through quiet dialogue and cooperation. (JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images) Why Is the EU Pulling Punches on Beijing’s Human Rights Abuses? July 1, 2013 • From theTrumpet Post-war Europe has championed itself as a bastion of human rights, but is now compromising in that area. Germany’s Conquest of the Balkans Continues Sequester to Minimize U.S. Military Why Saudi Arabia Can’t Afford to Lose in Syria China to Dig a Canal Through Nicaragua? Spain Opens Fire on Jet-Skier Near Gibraltar Four years ago, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry predicted that the European Union would create a brief alliance with certain major Asian powers based mainly on trade. Since then, a mountain of evidence has emerged showing that the formation of this alliance is quickly progressing. Last week, that mountain grew larger. On June 25, EU leaders deviated from the usual pomp and publicity of the annual EU-China Human Rights Dialogue, and conducted the latest round in comparative obscurity. The Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the low profile and low pressure of the event was a significant win for China: “[T]his is precisely the kind of dialogue the Chinese government likes best: away from senior Chinese officials, away from the international press, and with little ambition from either side to apply rights protection to real-life situations in China. With each successive round, the Chinese government feels less obliged to make changes, while the EU accepts progressively more restrictive conditions on even holding the dialogue.” In the arena of human rights commitment, the EU is no ordinary political entity. Since the end of World War II, in large part to distance itself from the human rights atrocities it committed in the war, the German-led European Union has has tried to portray itself as an uncompromising defender of human rights. “Human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights—these values have been embedded in the EU treaties right from the start. … Countries in the EU and those seeking to join must respect human rights. So must countries that conclude trade and cooperation agreements with the EU. … The EU has therefore put the human rights issue at the forefront of its relations with other countries and regions,” The EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights says. Why would the continent that champions itself as the global leader in human rights commitment capitulate to a nation with one of the very worst records of ongoing human rights abuses in the world? Because Europe wants China’s economic cooperation. Back in March of 2012, the EU-financed Europe-China Research and Advice Network (ECRAN) counseled Europe’s foreign-policy makers not to apply much pressure on China regarding its egregious human rights problems. By walking softly in this area, ECRAN said, Europe could win a bigger slice of Asia’s economic pie. The EU’s decision to hold the June 25 Human Rights dialogue on Beijing’s terms—out of the limelight, and without real pressure—shows that Europe is taking ECRAN’s advice. The EU is turning a dim eye to China’s human rights failings so it can win more favor with Beijing, and boost EU-China trade. Measures like these—in which the economic bottom line trumps all other concern
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 01:54:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015