United Nations
United Nations Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups first began conveying communications and urgent appeals about Falun Gong adherents to the Chinese authorities in 2000. Since then, they have issued urgent appeals for dozens of adherents, transmitted hundreds of cases of concern to the Chinese government, and determined informal opinions that Falun Gong adherents were detained arbitrarily. After a 2005 mission to China, the Special Rapporteur on Torture reported evidence that practitioners had been tortured to death and held in solitary confinement in labor camps in Shanghai and Beijing, respectively.
Background:
Unlike many United Nations’ positions which are held by government representatives, the individuals who serve on these bodies are independent experts, often professors of international law, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council (previously the Human Rights Commission – UNHRC). Their mandates are defined by the UNHRC and their work includes receiving complaints of abuse from victims and civil society groups, transmitting concerns over reliable allegations to governments, investigating allegations, and for working groups, issuing formal opinions on particular cases. During the regular meetings of the UNHRC these experts also present their findings to the plenary and in several instances have mentioned abuse of Falun Gong adherents as an issue of particular concern, as referred to in the 2007 report by the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, Ms. Asma Jahangir:
“The Special Rapporteur continues to be very concerned by the continued violations of freedom of religion or belief suffered by members of the Falun Gong. In her previous reports to the Commission on Human Rights, she explicitly mentioned members of the Falun Gong as targets of various human rights violations because of their beliefs and she strongly condemns the continued lack of freedom of belief of members of Falun Gong.” (A/HRC/4/21/Add.1, Pg 25)
Since 2000, the following UN Special Procedures experts have raised Falun Gong cases with the Chinese authorities: Special Rapporteur (SR) on Torture, SR on Extrajudicial Executions, SR on Freedom of Religion or Belief, SR on Violence against Women, SR on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, SR on Freedom of Expression, SR on the Right to Health, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Working Group on Disappearances.
Reports and Analysis:
What follows is a small sample of their reports and comments. For a more complete account of U.N. Special Procedures experts’ mentions of Falun Gong, see: List of United Nations Reports (falunhr.org)
- Mr. Cao Dong
- Organ harvesting
- Ms. Liang Wenjian and others
- Torture remains widespread in China and “many of the torture methods alleged to have been practiced on ethnic minorities…political dissidents, human rights defenders, Falun Gong practitioners, and members of house-church groups have been used in China.” (view excerpt)
- A table indicating that 66 percent of alleged cases of torture in China had Falun Gong adherents as victims. (view excerpt)
- Falun Gong practitioners detained in Beijing Women’s labor camp were placed in solitary confinement for extended periods of time, far beyond the legally permitted length: “Detainees …stated that Falun Gong practitioners who had not renounced their beliefs after six months in detention were placed in the Intensive Training section until they were ‘reformed’. Falun Gong practitioners formerly detained at this facility mentioned that they would refer to this section as the ‘Intensive Torture Section’.” (view excerpt)
- Human rights activist Mao Hengfeng described conditions in Qingpo Women’s labor camp in Shanghai and reported having witnessed the torture to death in custody of Falun Gong adherent Li Limao: “Ms. Li Limao, who was a Falun Gong practitioner, died one month after the Chinese New Year in 2005 following a punishment for disobedience. She was hung from a window from her hands tied behind her back, and with her toes just touching the floor.” (view excerpt)