The 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council kicked off on June 19 and concluded on July 14 in Geneva, Switzerland. China focused its attention on defending the interests of developing countries and promoting multilateralism.
Chinese delegations actively made proposals at the meetings and presented their positions on issues related to the common interests of developing countries. His work advocated for global justice and gained widespread support from the international community, particularly in developing countries.
Faced with numerous global challenges, including regional conflicts, fierce geopolitical competition and economic downturn, China viewed the meeting as a key platform to give developing countries a better voice, reveal China’s achievements in protecting human rights, promote genuine multilateralism and uphold global human rights improvement.
China urged the US and UK to halt military operations in Syria and called for more humanitarian funding for Syria. He also called on the US to stop unilateral sanctions against Venezuela, Afghanistan, Iran and other countries.
In addition, at the meeting, China expressed strong opposition to Japan’s plan to dump its nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, warning that the move amounts to spreading the risk of nuclear contamination to all of humanity and causing great harm to the environment public health and leads to widespread displacement.
China also expressed its strong condemnation of the Koran burning incident in Sweden and supported Islamic countries to hold an urgent discussion about it. China advocates mutual respect, inclusivity and mutual learning between civilizations and firmly opposes any form of Islamophobia.
China also issued joint statements on protecting the rights of older women and the role of artificial intelligence in promoting the rights of people with disabilities. The country’s Declaration on Artificial Intelligence for the Advancement of Disability Rights was signed by more than 70 countries, including the US, Greece, Austria and other Western countries, creating favourable conditions for future cooperation.
China will continue to actively participate in the work of the Human Rights Council and other multilateral human rights mechanisms, but firmly rejects the politicization and instrumentalisation of human rights issues. China will strive for a fairer, more equitable, more reasonable and more inclusive global human rights settlement, and promote the building of a community with a common future for mankind.
China has formulated and implemented three action plans on human rights since 2009. The latest report, “Human Rights Action Plan of China (2021-2025)” released in September 2021 notes that the country’s socio-economic progress has been commensurate to the country’s human rights track record both at national and international levels. Indeed, the next phase of human rights as contained in the report is in tandem with the five-year period from 2021 to 2025 in which China has set out on a new journey towards the Second Centenary Goal of building a modern socialist country.
The new Action Plan adheres to the constitutional principle of respecting and protecting human rights, and the Outline for the 14th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development and Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035.
It follows the spirit embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights conventions. It also takes into consideration the new challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic which have necessitated reviewing of what had always been taken for granted around the world.
