Foreign Minister Knut Vollebæk

Sino-Norwegian Roundtable on the Rule of Law and Human Rights

Oslo, 16 -17 June 1999

Assistant Minister Wang Guangya,
Delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,

President Jiang Zemin once said that in order to develop, a nation must learn from the experience of other nations while blazing its own path to the future on the basis of national traditions.

Up through history China has made wast contributions to science, medicine, philosophy and technology.

Also the great achievements of modern China impress us all. Never before in history have so many people climbed up the development ladder in such a short time.

Not far into the next century, China is likely to have the largest economy in the world. Thus, China will be playing an increasingly important role on the international scene, and we will all be affected by your choice of path to the future.

Of course, differences in scale, in economy, in history, set Norway and China apart. But precisely because of these differences, we have a lot to learn from each other.

Cooperation is vital to progress. And openness and a broad dialogue are essential for cooperation. Human rights issues have a natural place in such a broad dialogue. Our discussion here today bears witness to this.

The idea of a dialogue on the rule of law and human rights was conceived in 1993 and matured gradually, and in 1997 we were able to hold the first Roundtable Conference, at this very hotel.

I personally led the Norwegian delegation to the second Roundtable in Beijing last June. There we went into more detail, elaborating on the interrelationship between economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights, as well as the legal system. I particularly remember our stimulating and rewarding discussion on the use of the death penalty, which Norway opposes on humanitarian grounds.

This year I hope we will be able to continue the trend towards an even deeper and more comprehensive dialogue.

We very much welcome the improvements we have seen in the human rights situation in China during recent years. The gradual introduction of the rule of law, especially the important reforms of the Criminal Law and the Criminal Procedure Law, are particularly encouraging.

It is therefore with regret that we witness opposite trends, like the imprisonment of Qu Wenli and others for forming a democratic movement.

The fact that we are gathered here today confirms that we agree that the rule of law and human rights are universal values which are worth striving for. Now, we have to move forward.

One of the milestones of our ongoing dialogue was reached earlier this year when we signed an agreement under which Norway will be providing close to USD 500,000 for the promotion of economic, social and cultural rights in Yunnan Province, in southwestern China.

Economic, social and cultural rights cannot be separated from civil and political rights. All human rights constitute an integrated and mutually reinforcing whole. Respecting human rights means respecting all the rights of all people!

I am particularly encouraged by the increasing cooperation between employers' associations and trade unions. And the literary symposium held in Beijing last month will also serve as a backdrop to discussions on cultural rights and freedom of expression. I would like to draw special attention to the exchanges and education of judicial experts, the development of curricula for human rights training and university scholarships for Chinese minorities.

We have on many occasions said how much we in Norway appreciate the dialogue with China on human rights. Our experience has encouraged us to embark on similar ventures with other partners, and we see more and more clearly that dialogue is becoming an increasingly important pillar in our human rights work.

The promotion of human rights starts at home. Thus, the Norwegian Government is currently assessing our human rights policies, with a view to establishing clearer priorities and becoming more effective and efficient in the future. Last year we published the first annual report on the promotion of human rights, and we are currently working on a National Plan of Action, which will be presented to the Parliament before the end of the year.

I would like to commend the Chinese Government for its constructive approach to international cooperation on human rights. Your bilateral dialogues with several countries, your practical cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the establishment of a plurilateral forum for the promotion of human rights are all examples of serious and constructive efforts to raise human rights standards.

I am proud that China has chosen Norway and Canada as partners in hosting the first plurilateral forum, which will take place in Qingdao next month.

China’s signing of the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights in 1997 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1998 were important steps in the protection of human rights. We are now looking forward to your ratification of these two Covenants.

We on our part have recently enacted a law which makes the two Covenants and the European Convention on Human Rights part of Norwegian law. This is the first time our parliament has asked our courts to rule explicitly on the basis of these international obligations, and to do so on the principle that international obligations take precedence over Norwegian law in the event of a conflict between the two.

Norway has always been strongly in favour of multilateral instruments for the resolution of questions of common concern. In our view there is a constructive complementarity between bilateral dialogue on the one hand, and cooperation and political discussions in multilateral fora on the other.

The annual meeting of the United Nation’s Commission on Human Rights provides the international community with its most important forum for raising awareness of, evaluating, and promoting human rights world-wide.

At this year's meeting of the Commission, the Norwegian Government openly expressed our recognition of the important progress China has made over the past few years, while we called attention to the shortcomings that we have also addressed through our dialogue.

Today and tomorrow we are assembled to discuss important aspects of democracy and human rights. Freedom of expression, freedom of religion and workers' rights are all fundamental to ensuring political and economic development, as well as social stability.

But as our discussions will show, both in Norway and in China these rights pose important challenges of a practical and philosophical nature. Thus, dealing with these issues requires patience, openness and tolerance, but most of all, hard work.

The struggle for human rights is not always easy and may represent an extremely difficult dilemma. This was the case when Norway decided to join our NATO allies in bombing the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in an effort to safeguard the human rights of the Kosovo Albanian population.

We faced a choice between two evils.

The bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade was a tragic mistake. I once again sincerely apologise for this to the Government and the people of China, particularly to those who lost their loved ones or were injured.

I hope that the Chinese people, including you who are present here today, will accept this apology from the Norwegian Government.

A prominent Chinese women poet, Ban Zhao, wrote nearly 1900 years ago a poem where she talked about the need to focus on the future – while remaining faithful to the past.

This is our common challenge.

Thank you.