 |
|
| China, Australia complete 7th Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing |
| CCTV.COM 2003-07-29 09:07:01 |
|
China and Australia has completed their 7th annual dialogue on human rights issues in Beijing. The two sides discussed a wide range of issues, including women's and children's rights, rights of ethnic minorities, judicial administration, civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as cooperation with the UN human rights mechanism.
The Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing is to meet the Australian delegation today, before they head to Tibet later this week to witness the human rights situation there first hand.
The one－day closed－door talks lasted from 10am to 5pm on Monday, delaying the scheduled joint press conference by half an hour.
Both sides have described the dialogue as constructive and fruitful, while conceding that certain issues remain for further negotiations.
The Australian side expects more related departments to take part in the dialogue for more practical discussions.
The head of the Chinese delegation, Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang, expressed his view that human rights are closely connected with economic and social development.
Shen said, "In my view, the fundamental improvement of human rights standards depends on the comprehensive and overall development of the economy and the society."
China and Australia also confirmed during the meeting that Australia would provide 1.4 million Australian dollars under the Human Rights Technical Cooperation Program to promote human rights in China, including help with China's legal education.
The Dialogue was first established in 1997. And Australia was the first country to develop a dialogue mechanism in the field of human rights with China.
|
|
Editor: Xiao Wei CCTV.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
