Today, as the world observes International Human Rights Day, we reflect on the ongoing challenges and the progress made since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Human rights remain universal, indivisible, and interdependent, they are inherent to every individual, without distinction of any kind.

This year, we recognize China's continued efforts in social welfare, including advances in healthcare and education. We welcome the last meeting of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue, which took place in Chongqing in June, preceded by a side visit to Tibet.

However, serious concerns persist regarding civil, cultural, economic, social and political rights. We urge China to respect, protect, and fulfil human rights for everyone, including persons belonging to ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities.

Human rights violations continue to be reported in Xinjiang. We call for the rule of law, accountability and justice, and urge China to engage constructively and effectively with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and with international human rights mechanisms, including all relevant Special Procedures and to address these issues comprehensively. Key concerns include mass detention, widespread surveillance, tracking and control measures and the use of forced labour, as well as allegations of torture, forced abortion and sterilisation, birth control policies, and sexual and gender-based violence. The EU is particularly concerned about the systemic and severe restrictions on the exercise of fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of religion or belief, and systemic restrictions on the right of minorities to enjoy their own culture, and to use their own language, in private and public, including in the field of education. These restrictions risk leading to cultural erasure.

Since 2013, the human rights situation for ethnic Tibetans in the Tibetan areas of China (that include the Tibet Autonomous Region and parts of Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan provinces) has been deteriorating. Authorities in Tibetan areas continue to severely restrict freedom of speech and expression, movement, and assembly. Severe restrictions on the freedom of movement of Tibetans include strict limitations on passports allowing international travel. Tibetan Lamas are subjected to additional stringent controls for domestic travel. Tibetan Buddhism is subject to increasing control over religious practices leading to alignment with the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party. The setup of a system of obligatory boarding schooling for Tibetan children has also been reported by UN experts and civil society organisations. Cases of closure of schools teaching in Tibetan language, such as the Jigme Gyaltsen Nationalities Vocational School in Golog, are another worrying development.  A side visit to Tibet took place, in the margins of the 39th EU-China Human Rights Dialogue. The EU is encouraging more visits from the international community and civil society organisations.

The EU wishes to express its concerns regarding the situation in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where we have observed a worrisome decline in the preservation and promotion of ethnic minority rights, particularly regarding the Mongolian community. The shift from Mongolian as a vehicle of instruction in schools to mere subject of study suggests a significant erosion of cultural identity and heritage. These policy changes stand in contrast with the regional government's commitment to ethnic harmony and cultural preservation, limiting the Mongolian language's vitality and reducing its everyday use.

On Human Rights Day, we also reiterate our call for the abolition of the death penalty in all cases and all circumstances, in line with international human rights law. The EU reaffirms that the death penalty remains an ineffective, unnecessary and irrevocable punishment, representing the ultimate denial of human dignity. Despite this, China continues to apply capital punishment in the case of non-violent offences. Transparency in the application of the death penalty and reduction of capital offenses remain critical areas of concern. The EU urges China to introduce a moratorium on executions adopt rigorous procedures for reviewing capital sentences and reporting death penalty cases, and ultimately abolish this inhuman practice which has no place in the 21st century.

We stand by human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, and all those who face repression for advocating for fundamental rights. In China, individuals who speak out continue to be exposed to harassment, intimidation and surveillance and subjected to exit bans, house arrest, torture and ill-treatment, unlawful detention, sentencing and enforced disappearance.

The EU strongly encourages China to uphold the rule of law and to guarantee fair trials and due process for all. We call for comprehensive investigations into reported cases of arbitrary detention, torture, and other forms of -, as well as harassment targeting human rights defenders and their families. Detained individuals should be granted the right to select their own legal representation, receive medical care, and maintain contact with their families. The EU urges China to abolish the practice of Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location (RSDL), assessed as a form of enforced disappearance by the UN Special Procedures. Torture and other degrading treatments, including as means of obtaining coerced and public confessions, are equivalent to criminal offences and should be eradicated completely.

The EU continues to be concerned and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of, among others, Gulshan ABBAS, ANYA Sengdra, Ekpar ASAT, CHADREL Rinpoche, CHEN Pinlin,  CHEN Yunfei, Rahile DAWUT, DING Jiaxi, DING Yuande, GAO Zhisheng, GO Sherab Gyatso, GOLOG Palden, HE Fangmei, HUANG Qi, HUANG Xueqin, Hushtar ISA, Yalkun ISA, JI Xiaolong, LI Yanhe, PENG Lifa, QIN Yongmin,  RUAN Xiaohuan, SEMKYI Dolma, TASHI Dorje, TASHPOLAT Tiyip, Ilham TOHTI, WANG Bingzhang, WANG Jianbing, WANG Yi, Kamile WAYIT, XU Na, XU Qin, XU Yan, XU Zhiyong, YANG Maodong, YU Wensheng, ZHANG Chunlei, ZHANG Zhan, and YANG Hengjun, as well as EU citizen Gui Minhai. His right to consular access must also be respected.

The EU upholds the essential role of freedom of expression and media freedom in fostering effective governance. In China, the suppression of freedom of expression and access to information persists through censorship, intimidation, and surveillance of journalists and media workers. Arrests, detention, prosecution and sentencing of journalists are of particular concern. Chinese journalists and media workers should be able to meet freely different interlocutors, including foreign interlocutors, without fearing harassment, arrest or prosecution. In this respect, we call for the immediate and unconditional release of journalist DONG Yuyu, who was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment on 29 November. Foreign journalists and media workers operating within the country also continue to face challenges such as harassment, arbitrary detention, visa limitations, and surveillance. The EU also calls on China to respect the right to peaceful protest.

The EU strongly advocates for the global respect and protection of gender equality, women and girls’ rights, and the rights of LGBTI individuals. Widespread gender-based violence across the world, including in the EU and in China demands urgent attention. We call on China to safeguard women activists who have suffered human rights violations and abuses.

The EU also remains concerned about the human rights situation in Hong Kong. The repressive use of national security legislation undermines fundamental freedoms as enshrined in Hong Kong’s Basic Law. The EU is following with great concern the politically motivated trials of pro-democracy figures, such as Jimmy Lai or the politicians and activists commonly known as the “Hong Kong 47”. The EU urges the Chinese central government and the Hong Kong authorities to restore full respect for the rule of law, fundamental freedoms, and democratic principles, and to preserve Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle, in compliance with China’s international obligations.

China must also respect the principle of non-refoulement, and refrain from any extraterritorial activity (including coercion) that is not in line with international law.

The European Union remains committed to constructive dialogue with China, believing that open exchanges about our differences can lead to meaningful cooperation. Today, on International Human Rights Day, we affirm our dedication to advocating for the rights and dignity of every individual, not only in China but around the globe.