SCIO briefing on implementation of National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2016-2020)
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E-mail China.org.cn, June 7, 2021
CRNTT:
The third National Human Rights Action Plan (2016-2020) added the principle of collaborative promotion, emphasizing that human rights development relies on the joint participation of all parties. In the past five years of implementation, how have the various social forces joined together to promote the development of human rights? Thank you.
Chang Jian:
I'll answer this question. I am glad that you have paid attention to the principle of collaborative promotion we proposed while formulating the National Human Rights Action Plan (2016-2020). As we know, the National Human Rights Action Plan (2009-2010) and the National Human Rights Action Plan (2012-2015) focused on three principles: advancement in accordance with the law, coordination and pragmatic advancement. In the third action plan we have added two more principles, one is the collaborative promotion that we have just talked about, and the other is the equal promotion.
Regarding promotion with joint efforts, we mainly emphasize that governments, enterprises, public institutions and social organizations work together to facilitate the development of human rights. We have noticed that enterprises and public institutions have done a lot in this regard. During our recent inspection trip to Zhejiang province, we noticed an interesting phenomenon that many communities there have set up community development foundations to provide services for the elderly, education for minors, and assistance for ethnic minorities. These foundations are mainly funded by local enterprises. The government has launched a number of projects where assistance is needed and has also implemented specific measures for the protection of human rights. An important program is called "Spring Mud Plan", which aims to help meet the educational and living needs of minors at school, especially of left-behind children and children of migrant workers, among others. At the grassroots level, volunteer organizations have developed vigorously. For example, in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, volunteer groups have played an essential role in providing community, transportation and hospital services.
At the local level, many regions have paid special attention to the role of social organizations in carrying out public welfare activities, especially in protecting the rights of the elderly, people with disabilities, minors and ethnic minorities. A host of relevant figures are available in such localities, and I have seen a substantial increase in the figures compared to previous years. Thank you.
China Daily:
What constitutes a good human rights situation? Is there an international consensus on it? What is the connection between China's human rights concept and the global consensus on human rights? What does China's human rights concept focus on? Are human rights universal? Thank you.
Li Xiaomei:
Thank you for your questions. In a congratulatory letter to a symposium marking the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on Dec. 10, 2018, President Xi Jinping said that living a happy life is the primary human right. Since the day of its foundation, the CPC has set its goal to work for the wellbeing of the Chinese people and for human progress. China respects the principle of human rights' universality reflected in the UN Charter and the UDHR. At the same time, China upholds that every country enjoys the right to and must independently choose its own path of human rights development in light of its national conditions and social development level. This is also what China has been practicing. As I mentioned in my briefing just now, at the high-level meeting of the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council convened in February this year, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi once again called for integrating the principle of human rights' universality with the practices of different countries. We also admit that countries have various views on this issue, which is why China has always been an active advocate of human rights dialogue and cooperation. China calls on all countries to engage in dialogue and cooperation regarding human rights on the basis of equality and mutual respect. Thank you.
Chang Jian:
I would like to add a few more words on this point. The so-called universal consensus is also widely discussed here in China. Looking into the history of human rights development, I believe that human rights were originally developed in different countries and nationalities. For example, China has always upheld Confucianism emphasizing benevolence towards fellow human beings. In the West, there is a tradition of natural law and natural rights. Africa holds a utopian view and thinks that one should treat others like brothers, while Buddhism advocates that all beings are equal. So, human rights are inherently permeated by different cultures. As for the formation of a consensus on human rights, it was actually with the globalization of the economy, especially since the Second World War, when fascism victimized humanity, that a certain consensus was reached among different national cultures on the issue of human rights, as highlighted by the UDHR and various international human rights covenants. In this regard, China was one of the drafters of the UDHR. At that time, Zhang Pengchun, then vice president of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, jointly drafted the UDHR with Mrs. Roosevelt (the wife of former U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and others. In recent years, China has acceded to a total of 26 international conventions on human rights and a raft of International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions. China safeguards and facilitates the current internationally recognized of human rights concepts.
On the other hand, we observe that different countries have different conditions, different cultures, different political systems, and different levels of economic and social development, so there are certainly many differences in how human rights are understood and how they are implemented. For example, in terms of the perception of human rights, it became obvious during this COVID-19 pandemic that China puts the right to life and right to health as the top priority, while some other countries may put economic development, political votes and personal freedom as their top priority, which may lead to different results. In addition, China is a developing country, so it puts the rights to subsistence and development in the priority place, while some developed countries have different priority rankings in regards to human rights. Just as Ms. Li Xiaomei mentioned a moment ago, there are different development paths in the world. We now emphasize dialogue and inclusiveness in the international community, advocating that you should not use your own country's human rights implementation measures as universal standards. Otherwise, there will be problems. But how do you test whether a country's human rights situation is good or bad? China's point of view is this: it's not enough to just write human rights in the law. The most important examination criteria are people's senses of gain, happiness, and security, and we should use people's actual sense of satisfaction to examine whether the human rights situation is good or bad in a country. Thank you.
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