UN approves China's human rights progress report

The United Nations Human Rights Council meeting unanimously adopted the report submitted by China on Friday during the third round of the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, Switzerland.

The meeting was chaired by Vojislav Suc, president of the Human Rights Council and permanent representative of Slovenia to the United Nations Office in Geneva. The deputy head of Chinese delegation, Yu Jianhua, also permanent representative of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and Zhang Jun, assistant minister of foreign affairs, attended the meeting.

This is the third time China has participated in the Universal Periodic Review, which opened on Nov 5, after 2009 and 2013. The Chinese side attaches great importance to the meeting, and China's deputy minister of foreign affairs, Le Yucheng, led a government delegation for constructive dialogue, and exchanged opinions with 150 UN member states.

The National Human Rights Report, presented China's achievements and progress in promoting and protecting human rights, and announced 30 new initiatives to be taken in the field of human rights, ranging from eliminating absolute poverty to better ensuring civil rights.

More than 120 countries spoke positively to the report and praised the concept and practice of human rights with Chinese characteristics.

The Chinese delegation has engaged with all parties in an open, inclusive, frank and cooperative manner, and actively responded to the opinions and suggestions put forward by the participating parties. At the same time, it refutes unreasonable accusations from some countries toward China.

The report adopted by the meeting recorded the recommendations made by the parties during the review, including poverty eradication, rule of law construction, innovation development, employment promotion, protection of people's livelihood, protection of special groups such as women and children, religious affairs management, counter-terrorism, climate change and sustainable development, human rights education, the National Human Rights Action Plan, double standards against human rights, and international human rights cooperation.

In concluding remarks, Zhang from the foreign ministry said that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the promotion and protection of human rights. "Facts have shown that China has made tangible and enormous progress in human rights … and the human rights development with Chinese characteristics is the right path."

"China has continuously engaged in international human rights cooperation in a responsible and constructive way… We set a high score by the recommendations mentioned in the report, and will study them seriously, responsibly and thoroughly, and present our response when the report is endorsed at the Plenary of the Human Rights Council next year," he said.

Zhang said China urges relevant countries to evaluate its development and progress "in an objective light", and respect the political system and development path chosen by the Chinese people.

 "China resolutely opposes the practice of using human rights as an excuse to interfere in China's internal affairs and undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"We will build a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020, achieve basic socialist modernization by 2035, and make China a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful by 2050," Zhang said. "We have every confidence in that."

Han Baoyi in Geneva contributed to this story.