This HRIC whitepaper analyzes the counterterrorism policies and practices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional group comprising six states with deeply troubling human rights records: China, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It argues that these policies and practices undermine the effectiveness and integrity of the international counterterrorism framework, and enable SCO member states to target their own populations through repressive measures that compromise internationally recognized human rights.

“To collect the stories of first encounters with China was a brilliant idea. Not only do we get the benefit of many fascinating insights (and hindsights) from a range of foreigners and overseas Chinese, but these deftly edited views from the outside make up one great story: the history of Communist China. More than a history of one damned thing happening after another, however, this is a history of perceptions, lies, myths, and revelations, as much about China as her rulers wish it to be seen, as about those who chose to see China, more and sometimes less clearly, over the last half century.”— Ian Buruma, author of Bad Elements

“An incisive critique of the intellectual chicanery, psychological manipulation, and physical coercion that form the core of Chinese communism. In the tradition of Arthur Koestler, George Orwell, and Vaclav Havel, Hu Ping, a distinguished Chinese liberal, makes a significant contribution to the literature on totalitarianism.”– Professor Steven I. Levine, Visiting Scholar, Carolina Asia Center University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

This study evaluates the effect of the 1996 amendment of China’s Criminal Procedure Law (CPL, enacted in 1979) and shows that the Chinese authorities have circumvented the CPL’s rights safeguards by exploiting loopholes, watering down existing provisions, and blatantly violating the law. In some areas, the revisions have actually resulted in greater limitations on rights. Includes HRIC’s recommendations on steps that China and the international community can take to improve respect for international human rights norms in China’s criminal justice system.