China tries to block NGO speaker’s tribute note to dead dissident at UN

China tried on Friday to block a statement before the UN Human Rights Council about a dissident who was detained and died after trying to travel to the council a decade ago.

Beijing used procedural moves to object to a statement presented on behalf of dozens of rights groups paying tribute to Cao Shunli, who was detained as she attempted to travel to Geneva ahead of a UN review of China’s rights record.

After being held for several months without charge, she fell gravely ill and died on March 14, 2014. “Cao’s courage inspires defenders globally, so let her legacy and name resonate in this room until there is accountability for all victims of reprisals,” said a Chinese human rights defender whose identity was not given.

Speaking on behalf of 37 nongovernmental organisations — including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Service for Human Rights — she included a short silence, which she said was in honour of Cao.

She also urged the diplomats in the room to “mirror the courage of all human rights defenders and victims of reprisals and always stand in solidarity with them”.

China’s representative, Han ◣incheng then demanded the floor, complaining that the NGO speaker was using her time “to observe silence and provoke confrontation”, and asked the council president halt her intervention.

He was backed by the representatives of Cuba, Venezuela and Russia.

North Korea’s representative, deputy ambassador Pang Kwang Hyok, also chimed in, asking that the council president “ensure that the speaker strictly observe the rules of procedure, by respecting dignified sovereign states and polite manner”.

Meanwhile, the European Union, along with the United States, Canada, and Britain defended the NGOs’ right to speak.

Human Rights Council members “have no authority to dictate the content of NGO statements”, U.S. representative Kaitlin Sandin told the gathering.

The statement was presented on behalf of dozens of rights groups paying tribute to Cao Shunli