From DEBRA@oln.comlink.apc.orgTue Aug 29 10:32:08 1995 Date: Mon, 28 Aug 1995 11:39:00 +0100 From: Debra Guzman Reply to: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org To: beijing95-l@netcom.com, beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org Subject: Human Rights Watch calls on UN re:Visas to Beijing Conf. [The following text is in the "ISO-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] ## author : REYNOSE@HRW.ORG ## date : 23.08.95 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Human Rights Watch 485 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10017-6104 TEL: 212/972-8400 FAX: 212/972-0905 E-mail: hrwnyc@hrw.org 1522 K Street, N.W. Washington D.C. 20005 TEL: 202/371-6592 FAX: 202/371-0124 E-mail: hrwdc@hrw.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, please contact: Joanna Weschler o: (212) 972-8405 x.222 Mickey Spiegel o: (212)972-8405 x291 Regan Ralph o: (202)371-6599 x120) HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH CALLS ON THE UNITED NATIONS TO ENSURE THAT PARTICIPANTS RECEIVE VISAS FOR THE FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN AND THE ACCOMPANYING NGO FORUM (New York, August 23, 1995)--Escalating reports that China is frustrating efforts by NGO delegates to the United Nations Fourth World Conference in Beijing to obtain Chinese visas led Human Rights Watch to protest today. The New York-based international human rights monitoring organization noted that some delegates have been denied visas outright; others were told to collect their visas at a time when it will be too late for them to attend the Forum. Some have encountered multiple bureaucratic obstacles and will not know whether they will be issued visas until a day or two before their scheduled flights to Beijing. Human Rights Watch, which includes a division on women's human rights, recently wrote of the deteriorating situation to U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and today made its letter public. "It is unclear how much of the current confusion is due to poor organization, how much is a deliberate attempt to keep out representatives of certain organizations and how much is an attempt to reduce the number of NGO participants," wrote Joanna Weschler, Human Rights Watch U.N. Representative. This week, reports of visa problems have grown in numbers, confirming initial suspicions that China is trying to keep the number of NGO participants down. Among other problems, hundreds of women in Central America were told that the waiting period for visas would be twenty days, so that they would not receive their visas until after the NGO Forum is over. Reports from other parts of the world, especially from the developing countries, indicate similar delays. China has also denied visas to delegates from organizations that focus on women's rights in Taiwan and Tibet even though they are registered for the NGO Forum and forty-five delegates in Canada were told by the Chinese consular officials that no visas would be processed after Friday, August 18. Upon first learning of visa problems last week, Human Rights Watch urged the Secretary-General to intervene with the government of China to ensure that it fulfills its commitments as the host country of a United Nations conference and the accompanying NGO Forum, including granting visas to all delegates registered for the Forum, something China had agreed to do. Of the seven delegates Human Rights Watch plans to send, none has yet received her visa (despite the fact that they are scheduled to leave for Beijing in a few days) and one was specifically told that her visa request has been denied. Human Rights Watch reiterates its call on the United Nations to intervene with the government of China to make sure that all NGO delegates are allowed to participate in the United Nations Fourth Conference on Women and the accompanying events. The letter to Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali follows. Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch is a nongovernmental organization established in 1978 to monitor and promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights in Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and among the signatories of the Helsinki accords. It is supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly. The staff includes Kenneth Roth, executive director; Cynthia Brown, program director; Holly J. Burkhalter, advocacy director; Robert Kimzey, publications director; Jeri Laber, special advisor; Gara LaMarche, associate director; Lotte Leicht, Brussels Office Director; Juan M,ndez, general counsel; Susan Osnos, communications director; Jemera Rone, counsel; Joanna Weschler, United Nations representative; and Derrick Wong, finance and administration director. Robert L. Bernstein is the chair of the board and Adrian W. DeWind is vice chair. August 18, 1995 His Excellency Boutros Boutros-Ghali Secretary-General United Nations New York, NY 10017 Your Excellency: Human Rights Watch is gravely concerned about the problems surrounding the processing and issuance of visas by the People's Republic of China to those registered to attend the Fourth World Conference on Women and the parallel NGO Forum. We write to respectfully request your urgent intervention to ensure that China honor the commitments it made when the United Nations accepted its offer to host the World Conference on Women and the NGO Forum. Less than one week before some participants are due to leave, and less than two weeks before the NGO Forum opens, the process is in disarray. As you are aware, China, as the host country, gave assurances that visas would be issued to all those in receipt of letters of approval from either the Conference Secretariat or the NGO Forum. The Chinese government then added the requirement that for a visa application to be processed, an original copy of a hotel confirmation letter from the China Organizing Committee was necessary. When it became clear that all the letters would not reach participants in time, it was agreed that those whose names appeared on lists available at Chinese embassies and consulates would be able to have their visas processed. It is unclear if those lists come from the NGO Forum data base, the Conference Secretariat, or are lists of those whose hotel accommodations have been processed but have not received confirmation. Furthermore, it is unclear how much of the current confusion is due to poor organization, how much is a deliberate attempt to keep representatives of certain organizations from attending and how much is an attempt to keep down the number of NGO participants. Some who are in possession of registration numbers have been told their names are not on the list. In some cases, colleagues who applied together have been treated differently: one member having a visa application accepted, the other being informed her name was not on the list. In one of the most blatant cases, a representative of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) had her visa application accepted for processing at the Chinese Embassy in Washington on August 10. When she returned to pick it up two days ago, she was told her application had been turned down. After she insisted on being given the reasons, an official at the embassy told her, "This is the Chinese way. We reserve the right to deny a visa to anyone." Her case is obviously of grave concern in and of itself. But of further concern is the fact that most applicants were given dates to pick up their visas much later. Many of those who applied in New York, for example, are scheduled to collect their visas only a day or two before their planned departure for Beijing. The Chinese officials had refused to accept applications early in advance and - at least in New York - have refused to accelerate the process despite earlier assurances to the contrary. We trust that you will be able to render your good offices in this important and urgent matter. Sincerely, Joanna Weschler U.N. Representative cc: Under-Secretary-General Ismat Kittani