In November 2000, the UN and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding on technical co-operation in the field of human rights.

• For some information on this co-operation and the latest visit to China of Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,  which took place on 8-10 November 2001, see the following press release.
• Robinson's visit is discussed in an excellent article by Jasper Becker, the South China Morning Post's correspondent in Beijing.

Individual countries and academic institutions have also initiated their own human rights dialogues and human rights co-operation programs with China.

• In 1998, the EU-China human rights dialogue was restarted; it now consists of political dialogues, expert meetings, and different co-operation projects.
  • The EU-China Human Rights Network is led by the Irish Centre for Human Rights, in cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing.
• In 1993, the Human Rights Research and Education Centre at the University of Ottawa inaugrated its China program. The Canadian International Development Agency also supports programs related to human rights in China.
• Several of the Nordic countries have since 1996 supported different human rights projects in China. See the Norwegian Institute of Human Rights, the Swedish Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights.
• Australia has since 1997 a Human Rights Technical Cooperation Program with China.
• In the US, official legal co-operation projects have been supported since 1998 by the U.S.-China Legal Cooperation Fund, and the Ford Foundation had before that date for many years supported projects in China on human rights and legal reforms.

There are however some skeptical voices regarding the content and usefulness of some aspects of the dialogues and co-operation programs. (For more on each of these NGOs, see the Activist Materials page of this site.)

• Human Rights in China's 1998 report on these dialogues, its submission to the British House of Commons on this issue in July 2000, and recent open letter to Mary Robinson. Also, HRIC's Nov. 20th, 2000 Comments on the cooperation between China and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and its 2001 assessment of the first year of UN co-operation with China.
• Amnesty International's comments on the UN-China memorandum of co-operation, and its its 2000 press release on the EU dialogue with China.
• Human Rights Watch's views on international co-operation programs and on the EU-China dialogue.