China on Thursday refuted the United States accusation of human
rights "backsliding" contained in a draft resolution submitted to
the ongoing session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission
(UNHRC).
The US presented its resolution to the 60th session of the UNHRC
on Monday.
In response, Ambassador Sha Zukang, head of the Chinese
delegation to UNHRC, said at the meeting: "It is not out of
ignorance or true concern for China's human rights, but because of
ulterior motives that a certain country has censured China."
"No human rights situation is perfect in any country in the
world. Western countries are by no means models for human rights
protection and the developing countries are certainly not
synonymous with human rights violations," he said.
"The submission of the anti-China draft resolution by the US
after a lull of two years has been entirely prompted by the needs
of general elections and has nothing to do with China's human
rights," he said.
Ambassador Sha told the Commission that the Chinese government
gives great weight to enhancing human rights and its progress in
the area has been widely acclaimed during the past year.
"In March, the National People's Congress incorporated into the
Constitution in an unambiguous manner the provision that ‘the State
respects and protects human rights,' representing a major
breakthrough in China's human rights development," he said.
"No one can obliterate China's human rights achievements and no
one can block China's progress," he stressed.
The ambassador warned that attempts like those of the United
States to "privatize" the Commission blemish its mission and
exacerbate confrontations.
He strongly appealed to the UNHCR to put a halt to acrimony and
abuse and to restore its original purpose as a forum for mutual
understanding and the promotion and protection of human rights.
(China Daily March 26, 2004)