Dr Matthieu Burnay addresses some concerns on the Belgium-China extradition treaty for De Standaard
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Dr Matthieu Burnay, Senior Lecturer in Global Law from Queen Mary University of London, addresses some of his main concerns on the Belgium-China extradition treaty in this article for the Belgian newspaper, De Standaard. The treaty was adopted by the Belgian parliament in 2018 and came back under the spotlight because of recent events including the adoption of Hong Kong Security Law. In this article, Dr Burnay refers to China's "instrumental interpretation of international law" which helps China "consolidate repression at home while promoting an illiberal, authoritarian model of law outside China's national borders." He further argues that states tend to prioritise the search for enhanced ties with China over the promotion of human rights. He therefore calls for more coordination at the level of the EU.
Read the full article on De Standard (in Dutch).