SD submits report, review to UN on China's secret Liuzhi detention

On 21 August, Safeguard Defenders filed a comprehensive report and review of China's newest system for Enforced Disappearances, Liuzhi, to nine relevant UN Special Procedures. 

The submission takes place just nine days before the International Day of the Disappeared on 30 August when Safeguard Defenders is launching a campaign with a large group of NGOs to highlight the plight of the victims of disappearances.

Liuzhi, a revamped version of the former Shuanggui system, is run by China's new anti-corruption super body, the National Supervision Commission, and targets party members, state functionaries, management at schools, hospitals, universities, mass organizations and state-owned enterprises.

The system has also been used against journalists, business people and local contractors. It has disappeared those under investigation and those who are simply connected to cases.

Liuzhi can be used for up to six months, with suspects placed outside the judicial system, in solitary confinement, with no right to see a lawyer.

The victim's location is kept secret. The Commission is also not obligated to inform the family that he or she has even been taken. 

This submission follows a similar action made in 2018 by Safeguard Defenders, ISHR and several other NGOs on China's use of Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location (RSDL), a similar detention system that is often used to disappear rights defenders. That submission ended with the 10 UN Special Procedures calling on China to abolish RSDL. 

Find the comprehensive review as PDF here.