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Topic: China state visit: NGOs and campaigners tell David Cameron to address humanright (Read 398 times)
October 24, 2015, 09:05:18 AM
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#xijinping #XiUKVisit #Cameron #China
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October 24, 2015, 04:56:17 AM
Critics Slam U.K. Government For 'Selling Out' to China on Rights
2015-10-21
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-britain-10212015122638.html
British Prime Minister David Cameron (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping host a joint news conference following their meeting at 10 Downing Street in central London, on October 21, 2015.
AFP
As Chinese President Xi Jinping clinched investment deals worth some U.S.$30 billion on his state visit to the United Kingdom on Wednesday, rights activists hit out at the British government for going back on its own principles and ignoring the ruling Chinese Communist Party's ongoing crackdown on rights lawyers and ethnic minorities.
"If the U.K. is going to totally ignore the ever-worsening rights situation that we have at the moment in China, then that will cause a fundamental conflict with its principles as a democratic country," U.S.-based Chinese legal scholar Teng Biao said.
He said focusing on the economic benefits of warmer ties wasn't a wise move.
"The Chinese economy is built on unjust foundations, and its infringement of civil liberties will damage the interests of the whole world, including those of the U.K.," Teng said.
He said Xi is a different sort of president from his predecessors.
"He is much more ambitious, and he has a lot more power concentrated in his hands," Teng said. "He is very likely to turn China into a fascist country with Chinese characteristics."
London-based academic Xu Yi agreed, echoing other commentators' comparisons on Tuesday with the appeasement policies towards the Nazi regime in Germany before World War II.
China also needs West
Xu said a flagging Chinese economy means that Beijing needs good ties with Britain and the U.S. as much as those countries need its investments.
"The Chinese economy needs Britain and the U.S., and even if they were to say the things that China most hates to hear, they would still keep coming back to fawn on [those countries]," he said. "Communist Party rule is totally dependent on the economy, because it has long since lost the support of the people, and now the economy is starting to
crash."
Xi and Cameron on Wednesday inked a multi-billion dollar deal to finance nuclear power stations in the U.K., in a deal that Prime Minister David Cameron hopes will pave the way for further incoming Chinese investment, which reached U.S.$5.1 billion in 2014.
"China and the U.K. are increasingly interdependent and are becoming a community of shared interests," Xi told members of both houses of parliament in a speech on Wednesday.
Critics have raised security concerns over Chinese involvement in the industry, citing allegations of cyberattacks sponsored by the Chinese government on commercial and government targets overseas.
Cameron, meanwhile, told China's state broadcaster CCTV: "China is investing more in Britain now than other European countries," amid plans to make London one of the major hubs for the trading of China's currency, the yuan.
While human rights protesters have made an appearance during Xi's trip, their protests have largely been eclipsed by pro-Xi protesters, who were seen waving identical banners from a supply bearing the diplomatic bag address of the Chinese embassy in London, local media reported.
According to the Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group, at least 293 lawyers, law firm staff, human rights activists and family members have been detained, questioned by police, forbidden to leave the country, held under residential surveillance, or are simply missing.
While many have since been released, 31 remain under criminal detention, enforced 'disappearance' or residential surveillance, with the majority being held in unknown locations, the group said.
Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress representing the interests of the mostly Muslim, Turkic-speaking Uyghur group in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, said the Uyghur community was "disappointed" by Xi's regal reception in Britain.
"This sort of high-level treatment [of Xi] by the British government is really disappointing," said Raxit, who has frequently spoken out against Beijing's repressive policies in Xinjiang, where a string of violent incidents has sparked an all-out "anti-terrorism" campaign from Beijing. "I hope that the U.K. government will treat human rights and economic matters separately."
"At the same time, I hope they will take a hard line policy, rather than changing traditional British values in favor of Chinese economic development," he said.
Rogue regime?
Raxit's words were echoed by senior law lecturer Rosa Freedman from the University of Birmingham.
"China’s economic might is created by one of the most brutal regimes in the world," Freedman wrote in an online article published to coincide with Xi's trip. "None of that seems to matter to the British government."
"Instead, the U.K.’s eyes are firmly on the financial benefits of a closer relationship with this repressive regime," she wrote. "And that pernicious calculus seems to be seeping out of the halls of power and into the public sphere, with British civil society organizations warned to consider the scale and type of protests they’re planning."
Writing in the online academic journal The Conversation, she said London's attitude to Xi should have been predictable after Cameron's ruling Conservative Party announced plans to repeal the Human Rights Act.
Such a move "would radically scale back and modify the UK’s legal commitment to European and international human rights norms," Freedman said.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong student leader Joshua Wong also took aim at Cameron in a speech at Oxford University, saying that the Chinese government is unlikely to be a trustworthy business partner if it hasn't kept promises of fully democratic elections made to Hong Kong ahead of the 1997 handover to Beijing.
Wong and other activists have criticized Britain, former colonial ruler of Hong Kong, for not doing enough to stop Beijing from eroding promised freedoms in the city, which saw 79 days of the mass Umbrella Movement occupation protest in 2014.
Hong Kong youth activist Chau Man-fong said Wong had voiced the concerns of many in Hong Kong.
"Many young people in Hong Kong who many not be as famous as Joshua Wong are nonetheless courageously expressing similar views through a number of different channels," Chau told RFA after Wong's speech.
And Cameron's former policy adviser Steve Hilton hit out at the prime minister for failing to confront Xi over human rights and cybersecurity concerns.
"This is one of the worst national humiliations we've seen since we went cap in hand to the IMF in the 1970s," Hilton, who left Downing Street in 2012, told the BBC, in a reference to the 1976 debt crisis prompting a loan request to the International Monetary Fund.
"The truth is that China is a rogue state just as bad as Russia or Iran, and I just don't understand why we're sucking up to them rather than standing up to them as we should be," Hilton said.
China has repeatedly denied accusations of espionage, saying it is itself a victim of cyberattacks.
Reported by Xin Lin for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Lin Jing and Wen Yuqing for the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
2015-10-21
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-britain-10212015122638.html
British Prime Minister David Cameron (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping host a joint news conference following their meeting at 10 Downing Street in central London, on October 21, 2015.
AFP
As Chinese President Xi Jinping clinched investment deals worth some U.S.$30 billion on his state visit to the United Kingdom on Wednesday, rights activists hit out at the British government for going back on its own principles and ignoring the ruling Chinese Communist Party's ongoing crackdown on rights lawyers and ethnic minorities.
"If the U.K. is going to totally ignore the ever-worsening rights situation that we have at the moment in China, then that will cause a fundamental conflict with its principles as a democratic country," U.S.-based Chinese legal scholar Teng Biao said.
He said focusing on the economic benefits of warmer ties wasn't a wise move.
"The Chinese economy is built on unjust foundations, and its infringement of civil liberties will damage the interests of the whole world, including those of the U.K.," Teng said.
He said Xi is a different sort of president from his predecessors.
"He is much more ambitious, and he has a lot more power concentrated in his hands," Teng said. "He is very likely to turn China into a fascist country with Chinese characteristics."
London-based academic Xu Yi agreed, echoing other commentators' comparisons on Tuesday with the appeasement policies towards the Nazi regime in Germany before World War II.
China also needs West
Xu said a flagging Chinese economy means that Beijing needs good ties with Britain and the U.S. as much as those countries need its investments.
"The Chinese economy needs Britain and the U.S., and even if they were to say the things that China most hates to hear, they would still keep coming back to fawn on [those countries]," he said. "Communist Party rule is totally dependent on the economy, because it has long since lost the support of the people, and now the economy is starting to
crash."
Xi and Cameron on Wednesday inked a multi-billion dollar deal to finance nuclear power stations in the U.K., in a deal that Prime Minister David Cameron hopes will pave the way for further incoming Chinese investment, which reached U.S.$5.1 billion in 2014.
"China and the U.K. are increasingly interdependent and are becoming a community of shared interests," Xi told members of both houses of parliament in a speech on Wednesday.
Critics have raised security concerns over Chinese involvement in the industry, citing allegations of cyberattacks sponsored by the Chinese government on commercial and government targets overseas.
Cameron, meanwhile, told China's state broadcaster CCTV: "China is investing more in Britain now than other European countries," amid plans to make London one of the major hubs for the trading of China's currency, the yuan.
While human rights protesters have made an appearance during Xi's trip, their protests have largely been eclipsed by pro-Xi protesters, who were seen waving identical banners from a supply bearing the diplomatic bag address of the Chinese embassy in London, local media reported.
According to the Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group, at least 293 lawyers, law firm staff, human rights activists and family members have been detained, questioned by police, forbidden to leave the country, held under residential surveillance, or are simply missing.
While many have since been released, 31 remain under criminal detention, enforced 'disappearance' or residential surveillance, with the majority being held in unknown locations, the group said.
Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress representing the interests of the mostly Muslim, Turkic-speaking Uyghur group in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, said the Uyghur community was "disappointed" by Xi's regal reception in Britain.
"This sort of high-level treatment [of Xi] by the British government is really disappointing," said Raxit, who has frequently spoken out against Beijing's repressive policies in Xinjiang, where a string of violent incidents has sparked an all-out "anti-terrorism" campaign from Beijing. "I hope that the U.K. government will treat human rights and economic matters separately."
"At the same time, I hope they will take a hard line policy, rather than changing traditional British values in favor of Chinese economic development," he said.
Rogue regime?
Raxit's words were echoed by senior law lecturer Rosa Freedman from the University of Birmingham.
"China’s economic might is created by one of the most brutal regimes in the world," Freedman wrote in an online article published to coincide with Xi's trip. "None of that seems to matter to the British government."
"Instead, the U.K.’s eyes are firmly on the financial benefits of a closer relationship with this repressive regime," she wrote. "And that pernicious calculus seems to be seeping out of the halls of power and into the public sphere, with British civil society organizations warned to consider the scale and type of protests they’re planning."
Writing in the online academic journal The Conversation, she said London's attitude to Xi should have been predictable after Cameron's ruling Conservative Party announced plans to repeal the Human Rights Act.
Such a move "would radically scale back and modify the UK’s legal commitment to European and international human rights norms," Freedman said.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong student leader Joshua Wong also took aim at Cameron in a speech at Oxford University, saying that the Chinese government is unlikely to be a trustworthy business partner if it hasn't kept promises of fully democratic elections made to Hong Kong ahead of the 1997 handover to Beijing.
Wong and other activists have criticized Britain, former colonial ruler of Hong Kong, for not doing enough to stop Beijing from eroding promised freedoms in the city, which saw 79 days of the mass Umbrella Movement occupation protest in 2014.
Hong Kong youth activist Chau Man-fong said Wong had voiced the concerns of many in Hong Kong.
"Many young people in Hong Kong who many not be as famous as Joshua Wong are nonetheless courageously expressing similar views through a number of different channels," Chau told RFA after Wong's speech.
And Cameron's former policy adviser Steve Hilton hit out at the prime minister for failing to confront Xi over human rights and cybersecurity concerns.
"This is one of the worst national humiliations we've seen since we went cap in hand to the IMF in the 1970s," Hilton, who left Downing Street in 2012, told the BBC, in a reference to the 1976 debt crisis prompting a loan request to the International Monetary Fund.
"The truth is that China is a rogue state just as bad as Russia or Iran, and I just don't understand why we're sucking up to them rather than standing up to them as we should be," Hilton said.
China has repeatedly denied accusations of espionage, saying it is itself a victim of cyberattacks.
Reported by Xin Lin for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Lin Jing and Wen Yuqing for the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
October 22, 2015, 02:20:03 AM
FULL VERSION
Dear Prime Minister,
As organisations that are working to improve human rights in China and around the world, we are writing to you regarding the state visit by President Xi Jinping on October 20-23, 2015. We are deeply concerned with the continuing deterioration of human rights since President Xi Jinping came into office in 2012. We urge you to speak out on human rights in a principled, forceful, and specific way – in both public and private.
President Xi Jinping has committed his administration to comprehensively promoting the “rule of law”, which is even one part of his signature governance platform known as the “Four Comprehensives”. However, to name just one example, his administration has launched an unprecedented attack on the legal profession that is not in any way compatible with the spirit of promoting the “rule of law”.
On 9 July the Ministry of Public Security launched a nationwide operation to target and detain lawyers and activists. As of 16 October, at least 248 individuals have been targeted, with 29 still under police custody. Most worryingly, seven lawyers and five activists have been placed under “residential surveillance in a designated place”, a process in which police are allowed to hold criminal suspects for up to six months outside of the formal detention system. This practice, in which numerous cases of torture and other forms of ill-treatment have been reported over the years, can amount to enforced disappearance, a violation of international law.
The Chinese government has paraded detained lawyers on state-run TV to make forced “confessions”, accused some of them of having been part of a “major criminal gang” in which “all sorts of evil plots are being exposed”. The lawyers have been accused of using “sensitive cases” to “provoke trouble” online and offline. Moreover, several lawyers who have been targeted in the crackdown – but who have not been detained and do not face any criminal charges – have been prevented from leaving the country.
This intimidation and harassment is in direct contradiction to the government’s obligations to respect the role of lawyers in society. Article 16 of The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, which the UN General Assembly, has adopted, states that: “Governments shall ensure that lawyers (a) are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference; (b) are able to travel and to consult with their clients freely both within their own country and abroad; and (c) shall not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognized professional duties, standards and ethics”.
As your government has stated its commitment to promoting human rights, democratic values and the rule of law we therefore urge you to tell President Xi Jinping that the crackdown on lawyers is incompatible with upholding and respecting the vital role that they play in promoting the rule of law and ensuring human rights. Such activities may even imperil areas of cooperation between China and the international community in which trust in a well-functioning legal system is crucial.
During President Xi Jinping’s time in office, the already limited space for civil society has been shrinking even further. Since 2012, at least 450 people have been the victims of four major coordinated campaigns against civil society: the arrests of the core members of the New Citizen’s Movement, a loose network of activists dedicated to the principles of Constitutionalism, government transparency and civic responsibility; the targeting and detention of activists commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 2014; the detention of activists showing support for the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2014; and the crackdown on lawyers and activists in the summer of 2015.
Many of the informal tactics that were commonly used to monitor and control Chinese civil society are now being “legitimized” by being written into laws and regulations. The draft Foreign NGO Management Law, which is expected to be passed late this year or in early 2016, would severely restrict the rights to freedom of association, among other rights. While the law is ostensibly designed to regulate and even protect the rights of foreign NGOs, it would give the Ministry of Public Security the responsibility to oversee the registration of foreign NGOs, as well as the task of supervising their operations, and pre-approving their activities.
Jeremy Corbyn will use his meeting with President Xi Jinping to call for the release of imprisoned human rights lawyers (Corbis)
The wide discretion given to authorities to oversee and interfere with the work of NGOs raises the risk that the law could be misused to intimidate and prosecute human rights defenders and NGO workers for their legitimate work. Other provisions would prohibit domestic NGOs in China from receiving financial support from foreign partners who have not set up offices in China according to the onerous procedures outlined in the law, thus potentially cutting off domestic groups from outside financial support. This move comes after at least 14 NGOs have been forced to shut down or have had their operation severely hampered by the government.
If enacted in its current form, the Foreign NGO Management Law could potentially put at risk many forms of cooperation between UK and Chinese civil society, including government-funded initiatives. We urge you to tell President Xi Jinping to hold off on passing the Foreign NGO Management Law, and ensure that any proposed and adopted law conforms to international human rights laws and standards.
We also have grave concerns about the situation for ethnic minorities and religious practitioners. The government’s draft Anti-Terrorism Law defines “terrorism” and “extremism” very broadly, and the law would regard “misrepresenting or insulting state policies, laws, administrative regulations” as a form of “extremist conduct”. Similarly, anyone suspected of “terrorist” activities could also see their freedom of movement severely restricted, and be subjected to so-called “education” measures or other forms of arbitrary detention. The law provides no redress mechanism for individuals who have been subjected to forms of arbitrary detention on suspicion of “extremism” or “terrorism”.
In Tibetan areas, there continue to be tight restrictions on freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and freedom of religion. The government has recently reinforced its claims to control the institution of the “Dalai Lama”. Meanwhile, in Zhejiang province – where the provincial government is waging a campaign to demolish Christian churches and tear down crosses and crucifixes – a prominent lawyer who was providing legal services to affected churches, Zhang Kai, and one of his assistants are being held under “residential surveillance”. All unauthorized forms of peaceful religious worship – including unauthorized Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian house churches – can potentially be subjected to suppression and criminal sanctions.
Please tell President Xi Jinping of the commitment that your government has made to promoting Freedom of Religion and Belief and urge him to respect all human rights in ethnic minority areas, stop the cross removal campaign in Zhejiang, and ensure that freedom of religion is fully respected in China.
We appreciate that over the years your government has raised human rights with Chinese leaders and engaged in human rights dialogues with your Chinese counterparts. However, we are concerned that recent statements made by Sir Simon McDonald, Permanent Under-Secretary to the FCO state that human rights are not as high a priority as ‘prosperity’ . Our organisations find this deeply worrying and whilst we recognise the legitimate pursuit of economic ties, this must not come at the expense of human rights.
We therefore urge you to demonstrate your government’s commitment to human rights and we urge you to raise the above issues with President Xi Jinping when you meet with him.
Yours sincerely,
Kate Allen, Director, Amnesty International UK
Philippa Carrick, CEO, Tibet Society and Tibet Relief Fund
Chloe Sanders, East Asia Advocacy Officer, Christian Solidarity Worldwide
Padma Dolma, Europe and Campaigns Director, Students for a Free Tibet
Tsering Passang, Chairman, Tibetan Community in Britain
Rahima Mahmut, Uighur activist
Kate Saunders, Communications Director, International Campaign for Tibet
October 21, 2015, 02:19:24 PM
FULL VERSION
October 21, 2015, 02:18:30 PM
China state visit: NGOs and campaigners tell David Cameron to address human rights issue in open letter
NGOs and campaigners led by Amnesty International UK have called on the Prime Minister to address 'grave concerns'
Jamie merrill Monday 19 October 2015
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/china-state-visit-ngos-and-campaigners-tell-david-cameron-to-address-human-rights-issue-a6700416.html
There is mounting pressure on David Cameron to discuss Chinese human rights violations in a “principled, forceful, and specific way” during this week’s state visit, as the Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman hits back at claims that ministers are “kowtowing” to Communist leaders.
In an open letter, published below, NGOs and campaigners led by Amnesty International UK have called on the Prime Minister to address “grave concerns” over the detention of human rights lawyers, repression of ethnic minorities and a crackdown on freedom of worship.
The letter, which is signed by Amnesty International UK, the Tibet Society and Tibet Relief Fund, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Students for a Free Tibet, Uighur activists and other Tibetan and human rights organisations, accuses the Chinese government of “parading” detained lawyers on television as part of a major attack on civil society.
Downing Street have pledged that “nothing would be off the table” when Cameron welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping amid accusations that ministers are playing down worries about the Beijing government.
The Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman insisted that China’s record on human rights and claims it initiated cyber-attacks on other countries would be on the agenda during detailed talks this week. The Prime Minister has also pledged to personally raise the issue of subsided Chinese steel during talks with the Chinese leader.
The Prime Minister’s spokeswoman said Britain’s approach was to develop a “relationship based on constructive engagement” which enables minister to speak to their Chinese counterparts “frankly and with mutual respect”.
Meanwhile the Duke of Cambridge used a recorded an address on Chinese state television to call on China to become a “global leader” in wildlife protection. He said the country had the power to “turn the tide of extinction” and help combat the illegal ivory trade.
China has traditionally been the world’s largest market for ivory, tiger body parts and rhino horn, which are used in ornaments and traditional medicine. Prince William said he wanted to connect with younger Chinese people. He said: “If we buy illegal wildlife products, we are contributing to the extinction of a whole species.”
An edited version of the letter
Dear Prime Minister,
As organisations that are working to improve human rights in China and around the world, we are writing to you regarding the state visit by President Xi Jinping on October 20-23, 2015. We are deeply concerned with the continuing deterioration of human rights since President Xi Jinping came into office in 2012. We urge you to speak out on human rights in a principled, forceful, and specific way – in both public and private.
President Xi Jinping has committed his administration to comprehensively promoting the “rule of law”, which is even one part of his signature governance platform known as the “Four Comprehensives”. However, to name just one example, his administration has launched an unprecedented attack on the legal profession that is not in any way compatible with the spirit of promoting the “rule of law”.
On 9 July the Ministry of Public Security launched a nationwide operation to target and detain lawyers and activists. As of 16 October, at least 248 individuals have been targeted, with 29 still under police custody. Most worryingly, seven lawyers and five activists have been placed under “residential surveillance in a designated place”, a process in which police are allowed to hold criminal suspects for up to six months outside of the formal detention system. This practice, in which numerous cases of torture and other forms of ill-treatment have been reported over the years, can amount to enforced disappearance, a violation of international law.
NGOs and campaigners led by Amnesty International UK have called on the Prime Minister to address 'grave concerns'
Jamie merrill Monday 19 October 2015
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/china-state-visit-ngos-and-campaigners-tell-david-cameron-to-address-human-rights-issue-a6700416.html
There is mounting pressure on David Cameron to discuss Chinese human rights violations in a “principled, forceful, and specific way” during this week’s state visit, as the Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman hits back at claims that ministers are “kowtowing” to Communist leaders.
In an open letter, published below, NGOs and campaigners led by Amnesty International UK have called on the Prime Minister to address “grave concerns” over the detention of human rights lawyers, repression of ethnic minorities and a crackdown on freedom of worship.
The letter, which is signed by Amnesty International UK, the Tibet Society and Tibet Relief Fund, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Students for a Free Tibet, Uighur activists and other Tibetan and human rights organisations, accuses the Chinese government of “parading” detained lawyers on television as part of a major attack on civil society.
Downing Street have pledged that “nothing would be off the table” when Cameron welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping amid accusations that ministers are playing down worries about the Beijing government.
The Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman insisted that China’s record on human rights and claims it initiated cyber-attacks on other countries would be on the agenda during detailed talks this week. The Prime Minister has also pledged to personally raise the issue of subsided Chinese steel during talks with the Chinese leader.
The Prime Minister’s spokeswoman said Britain’s approach was to develop a “relationship based on constructive engagement” which enables minister to speak to their Chinese counterparts “frankly and with mutual respect”.
Meanwhile the Duke of Cambridge used a recorded an address on Chinese state television to call on China to become a “global leader” in wildlife protection. He said the country had the power to “turn the tide of extinction” and help combat the illegal ivory trade.
China has traditionally been the world’s largest market for ivory, tiger body parts and rhino horn, which are used in ornaments and traditional medicine. Prince William said he wanted to connect with younger Chinese people. He said: “If we buy illegal wildlife products, we are contributing to the extinction of a whole species.”
An edited version of the letter
Dear Prime Minister,
As organisations that are working to improve human rights in China and around the world, we are writing to you regarding the state visit by President Xi Jinping on October 20-23, 2015. We are deeply concerned with the continuing deterioration of human rights since President Xi Jinping came into office in 2012. We urge you to speak out on human rights in a principled, forceful, and specific way – in both public and private.
President Xi Jinping has committed his administration to comprehensively promoting the “rule of law”, which is even one part of his signature governance platform known as the “Four Comprehensives”. However, to name just one example, his administration has launched an unprecedented attack on the legal profession that is not in any way compatible with the spirit of promoting the “rule of law”.
On 9 July the Ministry of Public Security launched a nationwide operation to target and detain lawyers and activists. As of 16 October, at least 248 individuals have been targeted, with 29 still under police custody. Most worryingly, seven lawyers and five activists have been placed under “residential surveillance in a designated place”, a process in which police are allowed to hold criminal suspects for up to six months outside of the formal detention system. This practice, in which numerous cases of torture and other forms of ill-treatment have been reported over the years, can amount to enforced disappearance, a violation of international law.
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