United States
(2016) H.Res.343 – Expressing concern regarding persistent and credible reports of systematic, state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience in the People’s Republic of China, including from large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups.
On June 13, 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.Res.343, which:
- Condemns the practice of state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting in China.
- Calls on China and the Communist Party of China to end the practice of organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience.
- Encourages the U.S. medical community to help raise awareness of unethical organ transplant practices in China.
- Demands an end to the 17-year persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice and the release of all Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience.
- Calls on China to allow an independent investigation into organ transplant abuses.
- Calls on the Department of State to: (1) conduct a more detailed analysis on state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience in the annual Human Rights Report, and (2) report annually to Congress on implementation of the immigration provision prohibiting visas to Chinese and other nationals engaged in coerced organ or bodily tissue transplantation.
Source: House Resolution 343, United States Congress
(2014) H.Res.281 – Expressing concern over persistent and credible reports of systematic, state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience, in the People’s Republic of China, including from large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners imprisoned for their religious beliefs, and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups.
This resolution:
- Calls on China (PRC) to end the practice of organ harvesting from prisoners, and particularly from Falun Gong prisoners of conscience and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups.
- Calls for a Department of State investigation into organ transplant practices in China, and for the prosecution of those found to have engaged in such practices.
- Demands an end to the persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice by the Communist Party of China and the release of all Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience.
- Recommends that: (1) the Department issue a travel warning for U.S. citizens traveling to China for organ transplants informing them that the organ source for their operation may be a prisoner of conscience; and (2) the U.S. government condemn organ transplantation abuses in China, ban the entry of those who have participated in such activities, and prosecute such individuals should they be found on U.S. soil.
Source: H.Res.281 — 113th Congress (2013-2014)
(2010) H.Res.605 – Recognizing the continued persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China on the 11th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party campaign to suppress the Falun Gong spiritual movement and calling for an immediate end to the campaign to persecute, intimidate, imprison, and torture Falun Gong practitioners.
This resolution:
- Expresses sympathy to Falun Gong practitioners and their family members who have suffered persecution and even death because of adherence to their personal beliefs.
- Calls upon the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to: (1) cease its campaign against Falun Gong practitioners; (2) abolish the 6-10 office, an extrajudicial security apparatus given the mandate to “eradicate” Falun Gong; and (3) release Falun Gong practitioners from prisons and reeducation through labor camps, including those practitioners who are relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
- Calls upon the President and Members of Congress to mark the 11th anniversary of Chinese official repression of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, including by meeting with Falun Gong practitioners.
European Parliament
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution voicing “serious concerns” about the Chinese regime’s ongoing forced organ harvesting, while calling on its member states to publicly condemn the abuse.
“Parliament expresses serious concern about reports of persistent, systematic, inhumane and state-sanctioned organ harvesting from prisoners in China, and more specifically from Falun Gong practitioners,” reads a statement dated May 5 following the adoption of the text.
The Parliament members “consider that the practice of organ harvesting from living prisoners on death row and prisoners of conscience in China may amount to crimes against humanity,” it reads.
Specifically, the resolution:
1. Expresses its serious concerns about the reports of persistent, systematic, inhumane and state‑sanctioned organ harvesting from prisoners in the People’s Republic of China, and, more specifically, from Falun Gong practitioners and other minorities such as Uyghurs, Tibetans and Christians;
2. Recalls that China has ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which provides for the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment;
3. Considers that the practice of organ harvesting from living prisoners on death row and prisoners of conscience in the People’s Republic of China may amount to crimes against humanity, as defined in Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; urges the People’s Republic of China to sign and accede to the Rome Statute;
4. Calls on the Chinese authorities to promptly respond to the allegations of organ harvesting and to allow independent monitoring by international human rights mechanisms, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights;
5. Expresses its concerns over the lack of independent oversight as to whether prisoners or detainees provide valid consent to organ donation; denounces the lack of information from the Chinese authorities on reports that the families of deceased detainees and prisoners are being prevented from claiming their bodies;
6. Urges the Chinese authorities to request and ensure the free and informed consent of prisoners or detainees in connection with medical examinations and to adopt a regulatory framework, in line with international conventions, for a voluntary and transparent organ donation system;
7. Calls for the EU and its Member States to raise the issue of organ harvesting in China at every Human Rights Dialogue; insists that the EU and its Member States publicly condemn organ transplant abuses in China; calls on the Member States to take the necessary actions in order to prevent transplant tourism to China by their citizens and to raise awareness of this issue among their citizens travelling to China;
8. Welcomes the visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to China; urges the UN to continue its investigation into organ trafficking during this visit;
9. Calls for the EU and its Member States to raise the issue of forced organ harvesting in its engagement with third countries, especially with its partners in the Gulf region, where Chinese transplant centres have advertised ‘halal organs’ from Uyghurs and Muslim minorities in China;
10. Calls on China to fully comply with the WHO’s requirements for transparency and traceability in organ procurement pathways;
11. Calls on the Member States to ensure that their conventions and cooperation agreements with non-EU countries, including China, in the area of health and research respect the EU’s ethical principles in relation to organ donation and the use for scientific purposes of elements and products of the human body; calls on the relevant institutions in the Member States to evaluate and revisit the terms of their collaborations with Chinese institutions on transplant medicine, research and training;
12. Requires that the Chinese authorities grant open, unfettered and meaningful access to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the mandate holders of the special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council to visit Xinjiang; asks the Chinese Government to cooperate with the UN organisations on this matter; urges the UN Human Rights Council to deal with the issue of forced organ harvesting as a matter of priority;
13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of the People’s Republic of China and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.