China to make greater contributions to healthy development of international human rights

By He Yin, People’s Daily

China was recently re-elected as a member of the Human Rights Council at the 78th session of the United Nations(UN) General Assembly for the term 2024 to 2026.

This is the sixth time that China has been elected to the Human Rights Council since its establishment in 2006, which fully demonstrates the international community’s full recognition of China’s achievements in the field of human rights and its active participation in international human rights cooperation.

As a founding member of the UN and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has always participated in UN human rights affairs with a responsible attitude, actively integrating into the global human rights governance system, and striving to promote the healthy development of international human rights undertakings.

China upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and abides by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, earnestly fulfills its obligations to international human rights conventions and has ratified or joined 29 international human rights instruments, including six core UN human rights treaties. China has successfully participated in three rounds of Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council, becoming a role model of compliance.

Besides, the country also actively expands cooperation with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the High Commissioner’s office, as well as the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, demonstrating the image of a responsible major country.

China holds a people-centered human rights philosophy and believes that a happy life for the people is the most important human right. It has found a path towards better human rights that follows the trend of the times and fits its national realities. It has made historic progress in its human rights cause.

China aims at increasing people’s benefits, ensuring the people are their own masters and supporting development in an all-round way, and ensures that people enjoy a full range of human rights that are genuine, specific, effective, and functional.

China has built a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and established the world’s largest education, social security, and medical and health care systems. It has made continuous efforts to develop whole-process people’s democracy, and enhanced protection for the rights and interests of specific groups such as ethnic groups, women, children, older people, and those with disabilities. It has made the sky bluer, the mountains greener and the waters more lucid, increasing people’s sense of fulfillment, happiness and security.

A European journalist said that each country can follow a human rights path that suits its national conditions, realizing the people’s aspirations for a better life and instilling confidence in future development. “China has set a very good example in this regard,” the journalist noted.

China has always attached importance to participating in the reform of the global human rights governance system, advocating for bigger voice and rights of developing countries, and steering global human rights governance toward greater fairness, equity and inclusiveness.

China is a vigorous proponent of reform of the UN special mechanisms for protecting human rights; it played a significant role in the negotiations and final vote on establishing the UN Human Rights Council. Its proposals were recognized by most countries.

China supports the establishment of specialized mechanisms within the UN Human Rights Council, such as those addressing the right to development, the right to food, and unilateral coercive measures.

China advocates for special conferences on food security and global financial crisis, actively promotes international mechanisms for protecting human rights.

China has facilitated the adoption of Human Rights Council resolutions on “the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights,” “promoting mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of human rights” and “promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities.”

China practices true multilateralism, holds dear humanity’s common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom, and works to build a global community of shared future, providing new ideas for global governance, including human rights governance.

China’s proposal to build a global community of shared future has been incorporated into more than 10 resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council, becoming an important part of the international discourse on human rights. Foreign scholars said this vision has brought hope to global human rights governance in challenging times.

China has put forward the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative, promoting human rights with development, safeguarding human rights with security, advancing human rights with cooperation, and contributing wisdom and solutions to building a world featuring “human rights for all.”

Human rights are a symbol of human progress. Mankind shares a common goal to enjoy human rights. China views the re-election as a good opportunity to continue its active participation in global human rights governance, and extensive exchanges and cooperation with other countries to contribute even more to the sound advancement of the international human rights cause and the building of a global community of shared future.