United Nations Human Rights Council File Photo: VCG

China on Thursday completed its 4th United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, with the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, unanimously approving its report.

Ambassador Chen Xu, Permanent Representative of China to the UN Office at Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, led the Chinese government delegation to attend the Thursday meeting. 

Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Supreme People's Court, as well as delegates from the Xizang Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Hong Kong, and Macao Special Administrative Regions also attended as members of the Chinese government delegation.

Ambassador Chen introduced China's stance on suggestions made by other countries during the UPR and highlighted the phased progress of 30 new measures for human rights protection. He further elaborated on China's path, principles, and achievements in human rights development.

China will uphold people-centered approach, promote new quality productive forces, ensure that the benefits of modernization are more equally distributed among all people, steadily improve the level of human rights protection during the process of Chinese modernization, and continue contributing to the healthy development of the world's human rights cause, Chen said. 

Russia, Venezuela, Uzbekistan, Gambia, Vietnam, and many other countries at the meeting positively assessed China's efforts and achievements in human rights development. They praised China for its open and candid participation in the fourth round of the UPR and affirmed China's acceptance of the majority of recommendations based on its national conditions and the will of its people. They also supported the Council's approval of China's participation in the UPR report.

After the Human Rights Council approved China's report, the venue resounded with warm applause, and many representatives from other countries congratulated the Chinese delegation.

Ambassador Chen said that the vast majority of countries and organizations reviewed China's report based on the principles of fairness, objectivity, non-selectivity, non-confrontation, and non-politicization and made constructive comments. 

China's participation in this round of the UPR has strengthened its exchanges and mutual learning with various countries on the paths and concepts of human rights, Chen said, noting that there is no universally applicable model for human rights protection worldwide and the paths chosen independently by countries in their human rights development are not about superiority or inferiority, but about distinctive features. 

Ambassador Chen noted that China firmly opposes the politicization, instrumentalization, and weaponization of human rights issues, and firmly opposes using human rights issues as an excuse to interfere in China's internal affairs. China will continue to resolutely follow its own path of human rights development, promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese modernization.

The UPR is an important platform within the UN framework for countries to engage in equal and candid exchanges on human rights issues, promoting constructive dialogue and cooperation. China previously participated in the first three rounds of reviews in 2009, 2013, and 2018. 

In January this year, the Chinese government delegation attended the fourth round of the UPR meeting and engaged in constructive dialogue with representatives from various countries in an open and candid manner. More than 120 countries praised China's progress in human rights and fully affirmed China's unremitting efforts in promoting and protecting human rights.

Global Times