Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union concerning Charter 2008 and the arrest of human rights campaigners on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- On: 16.12.2008
Following the arrest of Mr Liu Xiaobo and other human rights campaigners on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Union wishes to express its deep concern.
Mr Liu Xiaobo is one of the 303 signatories of Charter 2008, which urges China to press ahead with political reform. The European Union is anxious to have prompt information from the Chinese authorities on the conditions under which Mr Liu is being held and the reasons for his arrest. It also calls for Mr Liu's fundamental rights and those of the other people arrested in the last few days to be respected and for the principle of freedom of expression to be observed in China in all circumstances.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area align themselves with this declaration.
- Updated: 30.12.2008
