NEW YORK -- During a recent visit to Beijing, U.N. rights envoy Louise Arbour called attention to the serious human-rights situation in China and the need for improvements according to international human-rights standards. An important step in that regard would be for China to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Beijing signed in 1998.
There are presently two areas where the human rights situation in China needs special attention: trafficking of women and children, and freedom of religion. In China, as in many other countries, millions of women and children continue to be smuggled across borders, and they end up as beggars, doing forced labor or working as prostitutes.
Through a series of policies and regulations the Chinese government sharply limits freedom of religious belief. Although China's constitution states that all Chinese citizens enjoy freedom of religious belief, this article only applies to the five religions officially recognized in China. Those that don't belong to one of these religions, or organize outside state control, become outlaws.