A dialogue without any control of success makes little sense

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) issued a critical statement concerning the 10th German-Chinese human rights dialogue which is currently taking place in Wiesbaden. "The dialogue should not only be an end in itself, but should lead to precise results", said the STP’s expert on questions regarding Asia, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Tuesday. The annual meetings that have been taking place since 2003 had no significant effect. On the contrary: The human rights situation in China has become worse ever since. 

"The dialogue is like a discussion with a deaf-mute", criticized Delius. "We should have the courage to call it off so as not to let it become a fig-leaf for German politicians who tend to remain silent about human rights violations in the People's Republic."

Another problematic aspect of the human rights dialogue is the lack of liabilities and transparency, criticized the STP. As long as there are no clear standards for evaluating the success or as long they are not used to verify the progress of human rights policies, the dialog is only a non-binding exchange of views that costs a lot of money for little results. "Therefore, we would like to ask the federal government to explain what specific expectations are connected to the dialogue."

"Even if this dialogue will not bring any improvement for the victims of human rights violations in China, it is at least commendable that the federal government also considers the difficult situation of the minorities during this 10th meeting," said Delius. During the last few years, the situation has changed to the worse also for the Uyghurs, the Tibetans, the Mongols, the supporters of the meditation movement Falun Gong and for Christians – who are not organized in the state-approved churches.