UN Authority Figures

U.N. General Assembly Vice-President: China

Chen Guangcheng was jailed for more than four years after filing a lawsuit protesting forced sterilizations. After his release in September 2010, he and his wife were confined to their home. In April 2012 Chen Guangcheng escaped and requested asylum at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Photo: Hospital security prepare to evict reporters trying to see blind rights activist Chen Guangcheng at the Chaoyang Hospital where Chen was receiving treatment, in Beijing on May 2, 2012. (Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images, Isolated in a Beijing Hospital, Chen Guangcheng Pleads to Leave China with his Family, Time, May 3, 2012.)

Mission of the General Assembly:
"The General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of:

a. promoting international co-operation in the political field and encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification; b. promoting international co-operation in the economic, social, cultural, educational, and health fields, and assisting in the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion." ("UN Charter")

Term of office: 2012-2013

China's Record on "the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion":
"The government's human rights record remained poor and worsened in some areas. During the year the government increased its severe cultural and religious repression of ethnic minorities in Tibetan areas and the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR), increased detention and harassment of dissidents and petitioners, and maintained tight controls on freedom of speech and the Internet. Abuses peaked around high-profile events, such as the Olympics and the unrest in Tibet. As in previous years, citizens did not have the right to change their government. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), both local and international, continued to face intense scrutiny and restrictions. Other serious human rights abuses included extrajudicial killings, torture and coerced confessions of prisoners, and the use of forced labor, including prison labor. Workers cannot choose an independent union to represent them in the workplace, and the law does not protect workers' right to strike. The government continued to monitor, harass, detain, arrest, and imprison journalists, writers, activists, and defense lawyers and their families, many of whom were seeking to exercise their rights under the law. A lack of due process and restrictions on lawyers further limited progress toward rule of law, with serious consequences for defendants who were imprisoned or executed following proceedings that fell far short of international standards. The party and state exercised strict political control of courts and judges, conducted closed trials, and carried out administrative detention. Individuals and groups, especially those deemed politically sensitive by the government, continued to face tight restrictions on their freedom to assemble, their freedom to practice religion, and their freedom to travel. The government continued its coercive birth limitation policy, in some cases resulting in forced abortion or forced sterilization. The government failed to protect refugees adequately, and the detention and forced repatriation of North Koreans continued to be a problem. Serious social conditions that affected human rights included endemic corruption, trafficking in persons, and discrimination against women, minorities, and persons with disabilities." (US State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2008, China)