The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) is an independent agency of the U.S. government which monitors human rights and rule of law developments in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. It was created in October 2001 under Title III of H.R. 4444, which authorizes normal trade relations with the PRC, and establishes a framework for relations between the two countries.H.R. 4444, TITLE III--CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
The commission was given the mandate by the U.S. Congress to monitor and report on human rights issues with a particular focus on compliance with the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, fre ...

and the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt ...

. Its reporting covers developments in

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

, the right to peaceful assembly,

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...

, freedom of movement, freedom from

arbitrary arrest and detention Arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention are the arrest or detention of an individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that they committed a crime against legal statute, or in which there has been no proper due process of l ...

or torture, and the

right to a fair trial A fair trial is a trial which is "conducted fairly, justly, and with procedural regularity by an impartial judge". Various rights associated with a fair trial are explicitly proclaimed in Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, th ...

, among others. The commission publishes an annual report to the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

and Congress, typically in the fall of each year. It also maintains a database of prisoners of conscience, holds regular roundtables and hearings, and issues letters to other institutions concerning human rights matters. The commission comprises a staff of researchers and analysts, and is overseen by as many as nine members each from the U.S. Senate and

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, as well as senior executive branch officials. Chairmanship of the commission rotates between the majority parties from the House and Senate. The commission is currently chaired by

Jeff Merkley Jeffrey Alan Merkley (born October 24, 1956) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Oregon since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Merkley served as the 64th speaker of the Oregon House of Representati ...

(D-OR).

Work

Annual report

The CECC publishes an annual report on human rights and rule of law development in China, usually in the fall of each year and covers issues such as freedom of expression, worker rights, religious freedom, ethnic minority rights, population planning, status of women, climate change and the environment, treatment of

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

n refugees, civil society, access to justice, and democratic governance. The reports draw on a variety of sources, including information from human rights groups, media reports, and official government or

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

documents.

Prisoner database

As part of its mandate from Congress, the CECC maintains a partial database of religious and political prisoners believed to be detained in China. As of 2013, the database contained over 7,300 names. Over 1,300 of these are believed to be detained currently, while the remainder have been released, killed, or escaped. The database was created with the assistance of the Dui Hua Foundation and Tibet Information Network.Congressional-Executive Commission on China
CECC political prisoner database
, accessed 11-13-11.

Commissioners

;Commissioners, 116th Congress ;Commissioners, 115th Congress ;Commissioners, 114th Congress ;Commissioners, 113th Congress ;Commissioners, 112th Congress ;Commissioners, 111th Congress ;Commissioners, 110th Congress ;Commissioners, 109th Congress ;Commissioners, 108th Congress ;Commissioners, 107th Congress

Historical leadership

References

External links

* {{Authority control Independent agencies of the United States government Human rights organizations based in the United States Human rights in China United States national commissions Foreign relations agencies of the United States China–United States relations