On 29 January, the Chinese government targeted for closure a renowned women’s legal aid center in Beijing. Not only does this action undermine the government’s own efforts to advance women’s rights and gender equality, it runs in direct opposition to the government’s stated priorities and its international obligations. The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRDIC) denounces these efforts to curb space for civil society, and urges respect for those who do the critical work of defending human rights and accountability when they face reprisals…

By shutting down the Zhongze Centre the Chinese government, rather than promoting the status of women, implementing the Beijing Platform of Action, or even meeting minimum obligations to implement recommendations from UN experts on women’s rights, has acted in contradiction to its own laws and policies, and its international human rights obligations…