China plans to invite the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit for the first time "quite soon," in a sign it was serious about stamping out the problem, EU representatives said on Friday.
It was not immediately clear if the rapporteur, who investigates allegations of ill-treatment worldwide, would be allowed the same access to prisons and detention centers he is granted by other states to have ratified a UN torture treaty.
"Apparently, contacts have been [made] and plans are on the way for a visit quite soon by the Rapporteur on Torture. They have agreed in principle," said Michael Goblet D'Alviella, an EU representative in China for a regular human rights dialogue.
But the rapporteur, British law professor Sir Nigel Rodley, who has been negotiating the terms of a visit since 1999, said he had no contact with Chinese officials since last May.
He was unaware of any imminent trip, despite his concerns about "persistent allegations" of ill-treatment of Chinese detained in connection with political or religious activities, including members of the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong.
"Plans have not been conveyed to the Office of Human Rights in Geneva as far as I am informed," he said in Geneva.
In Beijing, diplomats welcomed the reported invitation. "This is an encouraging sign," said one Western diplomat. "It's been in the pipeline for a while.
"The question is on what terms he will visit -- would he have access to prisons? China wanted something more limited."
Rodley, who asked for a fact-finding mission, has previously been told by Beijing that it would agree only to a "friendly" visit, but he made clear that he required his usual terms.
"We still need to be agreed on methods of operation, including the right of access to places of detention which I choose without notice and unsupervised access to prisoners and detainees," Rodley said. "None of it is settled."
Rights groups have said torture and ill-treatment are common in China, despite being outlawed, and are rooted in endemic legal and institutional deficiencies.
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