China expects to contribute more wisdom to international human right undertakings
By Luo Yanhua
China was re-elected as a member to the UN Human Rights Council in New York on October 28 by winning 180 votes, which is the fourth time that the nation was elected to the council with an overwhelming vote.
With prevailing approval from the UN General Assembly, the UN Human Rights Council was founded on March 15, 2006 to replace the 60-year-old UN Commission on Human Rights. After it was established, China has made a positive contribution both in the consulting and voting process, and China’s proposals to the council were also recognized by most member countries.
China continued such efforts after the council was founded. During the election held by the 60th UN General Assembly on May 9, 2006, China was elected to the council’s first members after winning 146 votes.
During the past years, China was elected for four times by winning 146, 167, 176 and 180 votes respectively. In addition, the votes surpassed two thirds of the number of total seats in the UN General Assembly.
This time, the number of votes won by China ranked the second among all the candidate countries and the first among the ones in Asia-Pacific, indicating that China has won support among most countries. It also reflected the world’s recognition towards China’s performance as a council member.
As a member to the UN Human Rights Council, China fulfilled its duties, playing an active part in the council’s undertakings. China’s re-election shows that the international community appreciates its presence in human rights protection, as the candidates’ performance in human right protection is taken into consideration of member elections.
In one word, the re-election has provided a new opportunity for China to continue its participation in international human right affairs and to contribute more wisdom to the cause of global human rights protection.
(The author is a professor at the School of International Studies, Peking University.)
(Source: People’s Daily)
