Browsing by Subject "Yhdistyneiden kansakuntien ihmisoikeustoimikunta"

This thesis presents and analyses the effectiveness of the EU-China human rights dialogue between 1995 and 2004. The thesis has three research questions. 1) What were the objectives of the European Union for the dialogue? 2) Using the objectives identified in question 1, was the dialogue effective, i.e. were there concrete developments on the ground concerning the human rights situation in China? 3) What were the economic reasons behind the failure of the human rights dialogue? The research is conducted using ordinary qualitative techniques of historical inquiry, mainly source criticism and critical examination of the source material. Source pluralism is also used by using documents and source material from many different sources. The thesis begins with a short introduction to the history and importance of human rights in the context of the Western World and especially the EU. The first research question is addressed by using documents of the European Commission and the Council of the European Union. Consequently, eight “special areas” or benchmarks that the EU identified for its own assessment of the dialogue are presented. The situation on the ground is analysed by using material from three different sources. First, annual human rights reports written by two Western NGOs, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Second, for the point of view of the Chinese state, Chinese governmental White Papers on human rights are used. Third, the viewpoint of the EU is assessed by using a partially declassified Council assessment report on the dialogue from 2004. The final research question focuses on the growth of the Chinese economy and the trade between China and EU Member States in the years 1995 to 2004. This is done by using data from the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund and Eurostat. To showcase the growing trade between EU Member States and China, two specific products, “saddles for cycles” and “microwave ovens” are analysed. Moreover, imports from Japan, the main regional rival for China, are used as a point of comparison. The thesis concludes, on the basis of the reports of Western NGOs and the EU, that by 2004 the dialogue had not achieved desired progress on the “special areas” set by the EU, i.e. the dialogue was a failure. The Chinese viewpoint, however, presents China as a champion of human rights. Economic reasons were the major cause behind the failure. Individual EU Member States did not want to endanger their economic ties with China due to human rights concerns. Between 1995 and 2004, the growth of the Chinese economy was phenomenal, especially compared to other major global economies at the time. At the same time China became one of the main trade partners for EU Member States. This was especially true in the case of goods imported to the EU from China.