* Continue implementation and preparation of EU human rights-related assistance programmes addressing the rule of law and legal reform (EU-China Legal and Judicial Co-operation Programme), economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights (EU/China Network on the ratification and implementation of UN Covenants, Programme of support to economic, social and cultural rights in Yunnan Province, Chinese Disabled Persons Federation, EU-China Human Rights Small Project Facility, Scholarships for the Masters of Law course in Human Rights at the University of Hong Kong) and democracy (EU-China Training Programme on Village Governance).

ii) Addressing key human rights challenges: This chapter focuses on targeted thematic human rights challenges, while maintaining the necessary balance between civil and political rights on the one end and economic, social and cultural rights on the other.

c.Ensure internal-external coordination in the context of HR dialogues, including for annual EU-CSO dialogue; define and address a number of HR priority issues in the context of external HR dialogues on which a better EU response can be provided.

Calls on the Council to ensure that the Council Working Party on Fundamental Rights, Citizens Rights and Free Movement of Persons (FREMP) has a broad mandate that could include, for example, discussing and responding officially to reports of the FRA (in addition to recommendations of UN treaty bodies, special procedures and mechanisms), assessing the external human rights impact of EU instruments and policies, in coordination with the Council Human Rights Working Group (COHOM), ensuring coordination with agencies without a human right ...[+++]s mandate but human rights impacts (e.g. EIB or FRONTEX), examining EU and Member States signature, ratification and compliance with international human rights instruments and providing a forum for Council exchanges on internal human rights matters;

Recognises attempts by the Council and the Commission to organise a second round of the European Union-Uzbekistan dialogue on human rights in May 2008 and commends the Commission on its efforts to organise a civil society seminar on media expression in the margins of the dialogue, possibly in Tashkent; points out once again that the holding of a dialogue on human rights and experts' meetings on the 2005 Andijan massacre do not in themselves constitute progress and cannot be used as a reason for the lifting of sanctions; notes that t ...[+++]he absence of an independent international inquiry into the Andijan massacre and the lack of any improvement in the human rights situation in Uzbekistan — these being the conditions laid down by the European Union for the lifting of sanctions — have logically led to the sanctions against Uzbekistan being extended; welcomes the fact that the conclusions of the General Affairs and External Relations Council of 15-16 October 2007 have introduced specific conditions which have to be met within a period of six months in order for the visa restriction suspension to be maintained; invites the Council and the Commission to carry out a serious assessment of the impact of the decision to suspend for six months some of the visa restrictions that form part of the European Union sanctions against Uzbekistan, and to review the overall human rights situation in the country; deplores the fact that Uzbekistan has so far failed to deliver any progress in any of these respects; pays tribute to the work done by its Subcommittee on Human Rights in closely monitoring the human rights situation every six months so as to provide the Council with regular parliamentary assessments and recommendations as regards the EU policy to be adopted in this matter; is appalled by the presidential election held on 23 December 2007 in Uzbekistan, which according to the ODIHR was ‘held in a strictly controlled political environment, leaving no room for real opposition, a ...

Urges the Council and the Commission to set up human rights subcommittees with all neighbourhood countries; reiterates its call for parliamentarians to be associated with the preparations for meetings of such subcommittees and to be informed of their outcome; is of the view that, while first rounds of meetings, as was the case with Tunisia, might focus on establishing the durability of the subcommittee and fostering trust and confidence among partners, such subcommittees, notably with Morocco now, should move towards a result-oriented phase, with the establishment of concrete benchmarks and indicators of progress, as well as the possib ...[+++]ility of raising individual cases; stresses that discussions on human rights should certainly not be confined to these subcommittees, and highlights the need to include these issues in the political dialogue up to the highest level so as to increase the coherence of the EU's policy in this field and reduce discrepancies in statements on the human rights situation given by both sides to the press; welcomes the Council's statement of 16 October 2007 that discussions concerning a future EU-Libya framework agreement will specifically address, inter alia, cooperation and progress on human rights;