According to the report, Karen Parker of International Educational Development condemned numerous States for having used the fight against terrorism to carry out repressive policies against domestic opposition. In the case of China, the persecution of practitioners of Falun Gong was among the worst such violations of human rights.
Adrian Barattnychy of Freedom House said that sixteen countries were included in this year's list of the most repressive regimes, including China. Freedom House also regularly monitored the persecution of religious minorities in a number of countries, including China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Nigeria and Sudan.
D. Long of the Association for the Prevention of Torture, said that the fundamental nature of the prohibition of torture is today seriously challenged. Many States continued to use torture, submit persons to inhuman conditions of detention and break the customary principle of non-refoulement. Recently several States have tried to justify these acts, notably in the name of fighting terrorism.
States cannot sign and ratify international conventions and, at the same time, not only fail to take measures to implement them but moreover blatantly violate them. All States were urged to take effective measures to implement their international obligations and to stop torture. States were also urged to give priority to the ratification of the new Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.
Chinese version available at http://www.yuanming.net/articles/200304/19399.html
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