Norway's human rights dialogue with China

Norway has had a formal human rights dialogue with China since 1997, with annual roundtables at political level and parallel working group discussions between Norwegian and Chinese experts from academia, public institutions and NGOs.

The topics for discussion in these working groups are not static, but due to the dialogue’s long-term perspective there is focus on continuity. The four working groups in the 2010 roundtable discussed workers’ rights, prisoners’ and detainees’ rights, minority rights, and media freedom and responsibility. Apart from the new group on media freedom and responsibility, all topics have recurred several years.

Emphasis is placed on assisting Norwegian actors who wish to participate in human rights efforts in China. One example is the Norwegian Medical Association’s cooperation with the Chinese Society of Psychiatry in the area of psychiatry and human rights. Others are the collaborative projects between the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions and their Chinese equivalents in the areas of corporate social responsibility and labour rights.

The China Programme was established at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights in 1997 to provide academic assistance for the dialogue. The Programme is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its main cooperating partners are Chinese universities and academic institutions, and the topics it focuses on include human rights education, discrimination in the workplace and domestic violence against women. The China Programme also plays a key role in connection with visits of Chinese institutions to Norway, and with regard to enhancing knowledge of China in Norwegian universities and research communities. The Programme takes a long-term perspective, and arranges, among other things, an annual human rights training course for teachers from universities in West China. The China Programme also translated and helped launch the first comprehensive presentation of international human rights law in Chinese, in February 2003. This textbook with its accompanying educational programme is now in use at many Chinese universities.

• The China Programme at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights