China and international human rights: Capital punishment and detention for re-education in the context of the international covenant on civil and political rights

Abstract

In the evolution of international human rights law, the ICCPR and other international instruments impose on State parties human rights obligations regarding the death penalty and prohibition of forced labour. China ratified a series of human rights instruments and is expected to ratify the ICCPR. There remain problems for China what international human rights obligations might mean and how far its practice departs from them. This thesis focuses on harsh punishments relating to such obligations that China might not reserve in order to explore legal consequences of accepting them and assess the relevant Chinese law, its capability of the ratification of the ICCPR. As a member of the United Nations, China should undertake not to embark on a gross violation of any human rights obligations on capital punishment pursuant to customary international law. It also should observe treaty obligations that it accepted regarding capital punishment and forced labour as a party to the CAT, CRC, CERD, GC3, GC4, PAI, PA2, ICESCR, ILO 100, ILO 122 and ILO 182. These treaty standards would not be abused by individual or systematic abuses with precise implementation measures. In China, many aspects of its legislation and practice appear to conform to the requirements of the death penalty and forced labour provided in the ICCPR, to which China has not yet been a party. However, some substantive and procedural guarantees concerned appear to be breached as part of human rights obligations that China should undertake, even if not accepting the ICCPR. In the implementation of these harsh punishments, freedoms from torture and other inhuman treatment are also likely to be violated. These appear to deviate from China’s present official policies concerned and breach its relevant human rights obligations. The relationship between China's present practice and international standards tends to indicate the long course of its human rights progress. It is desirable for Chinese judges to take into account the relevant human rights standards in any sentencing decision at the discretion of them.