JOINT STATEMENT ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN CHINA
21 November 2025
We, the undersigned, are committed to promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, association, and religion or belief, both at home and abroad, and we share ongoing deep concerns about serious violations occurring in China.
Credible reports indicate the persistent use of arbitrary detention, forced labor, unlawful or arbitrary uses of mass surveillance, and restrictions on religious and cultural expression in China. Ethnic and religious minority groups — particularly Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, Christians, Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners, and others — have faced targeted repression, including through separation of children from families in boarding schools, torture, and the destruction of cultural heritage. We also express concern about the continued dismantling of long-standing civil liberties and the rule of law in Hong Kong and about the issuance of arrest warrants and bounties on individuals outside Hong Kong’s borders for exercising freedom of expression.
Online and offline, state censorship and surveillance are used to control information, limit public discourse, and punish those who challenge official narratives. The suppression and transnational repression of journalists, human rights defenders, and lawyers further exemplify a climate of fear designed to silence criticism. These actions erode trust and are in direct contradiction to the very principles that sustain global stability and human progress.
We call on the People’s Republic of China to release all those unjustly detained for simply exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms, which are cornerstones of legitimate governance and global credibility, and to fully comply with its obligations under international law.
We also urge Member States acting through the United Nations to call on China to address credible human rights violations and to advance meaningful accountability.
Thank you.
This joint statement is made on behalf of the following countries: Albania, Australia, Czechia, Estonia, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Palau, Paraguay, San Marino, Ukraine, the United States, and the United Kingdom.