Cao Shunli
Defenders' stories
©Pablo Diez
Story behind
"Our impact may be large, may be small, and may be nothing. But we must try. It is our duty to the dispossessed and it is the right of civil society." Cao Shunli
Cao Shunli was a courageous Chinese human rights defender and lawyer who was recognised posthumously as a finalist for the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2014. Her story is a powerful example of dedication to human rights advocacy under challenging circumstances.
Cao was born in 1961. After studying law she initially worked as a civil servant at China's Ministry of Human Resources. Her trajectory shifted significantly when she was denied government-provided housing. This incident propelled her into activism, particularly against corruption in housing distribution. Her whistleblowing efforts, however, resulted in administrative detentions in 1999 and 2001 and eventually led to the loss of her job and social security benefits in 2001.
Transitioning to a role as a ‘petitioner’ (individuals in China who approach the government to lodge personal grievances and seek remedies) she soon started to help other marginalised citizens. Her activism gained a new dimension in 2008 upon discovering the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. Under this process, each UN Member State undergoes a peer review of its human rights records every 4.5 years. To prepare for this review the State is expected to produce a national report in consultation with civil society. China was coming under review for the first time in February 2009.
Working with fellow activists, Cao documented abuses, especially in extrajudicial Re-education through Labor (RTL) camps. However, their efforts to present this documentation to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs were met with the government’s refusal and multiple detentions. She was detained in April 2009 during a rally and subsequently sentenced to RTL, where she experienced denial of food and torture. Despite these hardships, she continued to document RTL abuses.
Cao and other activists made another attempt to engage in the second UPR report being prepared by Chinese authorities for their country's October 2013 review in Geneva. However, the government declined to disclose information on ‘State secrets’ grounds. In response, Cao and a group of activists organised a peaceful sit-in outside of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Their sole request was to meet with officials, and they patiently awaited the Ministry’s response. The sit-in attracted, at times, as many as 200 participants and persisted for nearly five months. It was eventually disbanded four times, with the final clearance occurring in October, just before the UPR Review.
Cao also submitted to the UPR Working Group information about rights abuses of the group of petitioners and reprisals against those seeking participation in the UPR.
What happened
On September 14, 2013, while on her way to attend a human rights training in Geneva co-organised by ISHR and CHRD, one month before China’s second UPR, she was detained at Beijing Airport. She disappeared for five weeks, her family had no information on her whereabouts until she resurfaced in custody charged with 'creating a disturbance'. By October 2013, it was clear that Cao Shunli was experiencing serious medical issues while in detention. After months of denial of adequate medical treatment and despite multiple calls from the international community for her urgent release, Cao died of multiple organ failure on 14 March 2014, having been granted bail on medical grounds only days before her death.
After Cao Shunli’s death, several UN Member States, UN experts and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called for accountability in her case through statements. On 20 March 2014, during a session where the Human Rights Council was scheduled to adopt the second UPR report on China, a representative of the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) proposed the use of a part of its allocated speaking time to observe a moment of silence for Cao. A Chinese delegate interrupted ISHR, raising a point of order in objection, and insisted that NGOs could only use their “speaking time” to speak but not do anything else. This ignited a one hour and half debate among States, disrupting the Council’s session, and bringing global media attention; the moment of silence was eventually refused.. At the end of the session, many representatives from international NGOs stood up and silently held pictures of Cao Shunli. The incident was broadcasted online and to this day, Cao Shunli's spirit and her message resonated more strongly than ever.
What do we want
We want Cao Shunli’s legacy to serve as a permanent reminder that any acts of reprisals by governments against human rights defenders seeking to engage with the United Nations are unacceptable and that everyone has the right to freely and safely cooperate with the UN without fearing for their lives. All acts of reprisals must be impartially investigated and cases must be consistently followed up by UN member States.
We want China to admit wrongdoing, to commit not to repeat acts of reprisals against human rights defenders engaging or attempting to engage with the UN, and to hold those responsible for Cao Shunli’s death accountable.
We want UN Member States to publicly condemn what happened to Cao Shunli and call for accountability and non-repetition.
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- Story behind
"Our impact may be large, may be small, and may be nothing. But we must try. It is our duty to the dispossessed and it is the right of civil society." Cao Shunli
Cao Shunli was a courageous Chinese human rights defender and lawyer who was recognised posthumously as a finalist for the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2014. Her story is a powerful example of dedication to human rights advocacy under challenging circumstances.
Cao was born in 1961. After studying law she initially worked as a civil servant at China's Ministry of Human Resources. Her trajectory shifted significantly when she was denied government-provided housing. This incident propelled her into activism, particularly against corruption in housing distribution. Her whistleblowing efforts, however, resulted in administrative detentions in 1999 and 2001 and eventually led to the loss of her job and social security benefits in 2001.
Transitioning to a role as a ‘petitioner’ (individuals in China who approach the government to lodge personal grievances and seek remedies) she soon started to help other marginalised citizens. Her activism gained a new dimension in 2008 upon discovering the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. Under this process, each UN Member State undergoes a peer review of its human rights records every 4.5 years. To prepare for this review the State is expected to produce a national report in consultation with civil society. China was coming under review for the first time in February 2009.
Working with fellow activists, Cao documented abuses, especially in extrajudicial Re-education through Labor (RTL) camps. However, their efforts to present this documentation to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs were met with the government’s refusal and multiple detentions. She was detained in April 2009 during a rally and subsequently sentenced to RTL, where she experienced denial of food and torture. Despite these hardships, she continued to document RTL abuses.
Cao and other activists made another attempt to engage in the second UPR report being prepared by Chinese authorities for their country's October 2013 review in Geneva. However, the government declined to disclose information on ‘State secrets’ grounds. In response, Cao and a group of activists organised a peaceful sit-in outside of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Their sole request was to meet with officials, and they patiently awaited the Ministry’s response. The sit-in attracted, at times, as many as 200 participants and persisted for nearly five months. It was eventually disbanded four times, with the final clearance occurring in October, just before the UPR Review.
Cao also submitted to the UPR Working Group information about rights abuses of the group of petitioners and reprisals against those seeking participation in the UPR.
- What happened
On September 14, 2013, while on her way to attend a human rights training in Geneva co-organised by ISHR and CHRD, one month before China’s second UPR, she was detained at Beijing Airport. She disappeared for five weeks, her family had no information on her whereabouts until she resurfaced in custody charged with 'creating a disturbance'. By October 2013, it was clear that Cao Shunli was experiencing serious medical issues while in detention. After months of denial of adequate medical treatment and despite multiple calls from the international community for her urgent release, Cao died of multiple organ failure on 14 March 2014, having been granted bail on medical grounds only days before her death.
After Cao Shunli’s death, several UN Member States, UN experts and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called for accountability in her case through statements. On 20 March 2014, during a session where the Human Rights Council was scheduled to adopt the second UPR report on China, a representative of the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) proposed the use of a part of its allocated speaking time to observe a moment of silence for Cao. A Chinese delegate interrupted ISHR, raising a point of order in objection, and insisted that NGOs could only use their “speaking time” to speak but not do anything else. This ignited a one hour and half debate among States, disrupting the Council’s session, and bringing global media attention; the moment of silence was eventually refused.. At the end of the session, many representatives from international NGOs stood up and silently held pictures of Cao Shunli. The incident was broadcasted online and to this day, Cao Shunli's spirit and her message resonated more strongly than ever.
- What do we want
We want Cao Shunli’s legacy to serve as a permanent reminder that any acts of reprisals by governments against human rights defenders seeking to engage with the United Nations are unacceptable and that everyone has the right to freely and safely cooperate with the UN without fearing for their lives. All acts of reprisals must be impartially investigated and cases must be consistently followed up by UN member States.
We want China to admit wrongdoing, to commit not to repeat acts of reprisals against human rights defenders engaging or attempting to engage with the UN, and to hold those responsible for Cao Shunli’s death accountable.
We want UN Member States to publicly condemn what happened to Cao Shunli and call for accountability and non-repetition.
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- Photo credit for hero image
©Pablo Diez
