China: Prisoners

(asked on 5th September 2019) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they intend to make, if any, to the government of China about reports of forced organ extraction in that country; and what work is being undertaken, or is proposed, at the UN Human Rights Council on that issue.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 9th September 2019

I set out the Government’s position in Parliament on 25 July in response to an Oral Question. I noted the time and energy that the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China has dedicated to this issue. The evidence presented at the hearings they organised provided disturbing details about the mistreatment of Falun Gong practitioners, and raised worrying questions about China’s transplant system. Officials have reviewed the evidence thoroughly. While the evidence is not incontrovertible, we take these allegations seriously and have consulted the World Health Organization (WHO), NGOs and international partners. The WHO’s view is that China is implementing an ethical, voluntary organ transplant system in accordance with international standards, though they do have concerns about overall transparency.

We currently do not have any plans to make representations to the Chinese Government on allegations of systematic, state-sponsored organ harvesting, nor raise the allegations at the UN Human Rights Council (UN HRC). However, we regularly raise concerns about the treatment of religious and ethnic minorities, both directly with Chinese officials and at the UN HRC.

Reticulating Splines