Abuse of those suspected of criminal activity by the police in China is widespread and systematic both at the point of detention and during interrogation. Whilst improvements to criminal procedure law go some way to addressing issues such as detention time limits, early access to a lawyer, and standards of evidence, the root of the problem lies in the institutional attitude and culture of Chinese police. We work for the prevention and the eradication of all forms of torture and ill-treatment.
Prevention of Torture in the PRC: from Impunity to Accountability (2009-2012)
This three year project, funded by the EU, the (UK) Strategic Programme Fund, and the Dutch Embassy in Beijing builds on the project activities described below, with the continuing objective of preventing torture and other forms of ill-treatment in China. Specifically, the aim is to promote a greater compliance by China on the obligations of a state with regards to the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT), and to promote greater awareness within law enforcement agencies of the Optional Protocol (OPCAT), by:
- further developing police training with emphasis on new approaches to investigations and interrogation techniques;
- research leading to recommendations to reduce the number of miscarriages of justice as a result of unreliable and often illegally-obtained evidence;
- research into improving the operation of detention centres and reducing incidences of torture and ill-treatment.
Project update:In the first year project -
partners met to set out and agree roles and responsibilities for the project. Early in the project EU and Chinese partners worked on capacity building to improve research methodology. Researches applied the new skills learnt from this training to improve their monitoring and evaluation of lay visits to detention centres. They also designed more focussed questionnaires for the research activities. Research is part of the holistic approach of this project to the prevention of torture and will focus on detention centre rules and regulations, and evidence rules. Research focussed on how Chinese detention centres are regulated and attitudes amongst the judiciary and legal practitioners towards evidence rules. A workshop to discuss different approaches amongst Dutch and Chinese police trainers to police training with regard to interview of police suspects was also held in China.
In the second year of the project -
- The Chinese partner led a senior Chinese delegation on a study visit to Europe to learn more about National Preventative Mechanisms and the OPCAT. They met with organisations including the European Committee Against Torture and the Association for the Prevention of Torture, and were briefed by members of the Swiss and UK NPMs.
Four Renmin University PhD students spent a month on a research attachment at the University of Maastricht where they learned more on regulations and mechanisms to prevent torture in the Netherlands and Europe. Returning to China, they applied this new knowledge to conduct empirical research into 1) management of detention centres; 2) attitudes of legal practitioners towards the use of illegal evidence obtained through torture or ill-treatment; 3) the existing situation regarding complaint mechanisms for victims of torture.
A workshop regarding current victim complaint mechanisms in China took place in Beijing. Chinese and EU delegates reviewed the research into complaint mechanisms and made recommendations for the structure of a new pilot to test new approaches to improve the protection of rights of detainees to complain, and procedures for dealing with complaints.
Training for eight senior Chinese police trainers and two academics on interviewing skills for criminal suspects took place in Belgium. The training, which lasted a week, covered interviewing techniques and drew on best practice such as the PEACE framework (preparation, evidence, account, conclusion and evaluation) which is widely used across the EU. The delegation also visited police stations in Genk, Belgium and Maastricht, the Netherlands. The training was delivered by Belgian and Dutch police trainers, expert witnesses, and police officers. A forensic psychologist from the UK also introduced questioning and listening techniques.
In the third year of the project -
- In May, 28 police trainers from universities in north west China (representing 10 western provinces including Chongqing, Gansu, Guizhou, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Tibet, Xi’an, and Xinjiang) participated in a three day training workshop on skills for interviewing criminal suspects. The training was based on interviewing skills discussed at a Train the Trainers workshop in Belgium in December 2010. Five of the senior Chinese teachers that travelled to Belgium delivered lectures on day one. Dutch and Belgian academics with expertise in police training, a policeman, and an expert interviewer used deal-time footage from interviews in Belgium and role-plays to demonstrate EU approaches to interviewing suspects. The next training will take place in October 2011.
- Work to start a new pilot project to improve procedures for detainees to lodge complaints is underway and it is hoped that the new pilot will be up and running later this year.
- Work is also continuing on three new publications which consolidate the findings from the project research activities.
Project Partners
Renmin University;
The Rights Practice (London);
University of Maastricht.
This project is generously funded by the European Commission, the British Embassy in Beijing, and UNDP.
- Prevention of Torture in the PRC: from Impunity to Accountability (2006-2008)
This three year project aimed to cut the use of torture in China through raising awareness of China's obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) and promoting the Optional Protocol within CAT. Project activities included documenting the weaknesses in the domestic legislative and regulatory framework for the prevention of torture, particularly as it applies to arrest, detention and interrogation. A major focus of the project was the delivery of training for 50 senior police officers from across China on international standards with a view to changing the culture of impunity within the police. The other major area of activity was the six month piloting of a ‘lay visitor scheme’ whereby we worked with a regional procuratorate to devise a model to promote independent monitoring of the conditions of detention of suspects and the reporting of incidences of abuse. This project was funded by the European Union and UK Global Opportunities Fund.
- Protecting Detainees' Rights (2006-2007)
The GBCC worked with the Ministry of Public Security's Legal Affairs Department in the development of new rules for interrogation and detention for police officers.
- Police Training in Human Rights (2003)
In 2003 the GBCC ran a Human Rights training programme for Chinese police officers with funding from UNOHCHR.
this page was updated on 13/12/2011