HRW asks European leaders to address the issue of Human Rights in China during their visit

March 30 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Human Rights Watch has called on European leaders, specifically French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to make human rights a priority in their talks with the Chinese authorities during his visit to the country in April.

President Macron and von der Leyen should not sweep the deepening authoritarianism of the Chinese government under the rug during their visit to Beijing,” said France’s director for HRW, Bénédicte Jeannerod.

“They should use their public appearances with (Chinese President) Xi Jinping to express strong concerns about widespread rights abuses across China, growing oppression in Hong Kong and Tibet, and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” he added. a statement from the NGO.

They have encouraged leaders to publicly press for the release of all those arrested and imprisoned for political reasons, as well as advocating for specific cases, such as Sakharov Prize winner Ilham Tohti, sentenced to life imprisonment for defending the rights of the Uyghur people. .

“Russian war crimes in Ukraine are no reason for Macron and von der Leyen to ignore the growing human rights abuses by the Chinese government,” Jeannerod has recriminated, “they should show that the supposed commitment of France and the European Union to the fundamental rights and freedoms also applies in China.”