SCIO briefing on National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2021-2025)
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 17, 2021
Xing Huina:
Thank you, Ms. Li. Next, I'll give the floor to Mr. Bie Tao.
Bie Tao:
Friends from the press, good afternoon. The Human Rights Action Plan of China (2021-2025) is the fourth successive edition of its kind issued by the Chinese government. Environmental rights have been included in all four editions of the plan since the first edition was issued 12 years ago. Mr. Li Xiaojun just mentioned that the protection of environmental rights is an important feature of China's human rights protection.
As for the relationship between human rights protection and environmental rights and interests, I would like to give some of my basic personal judgments for your reference from the perspective of environmental protection. First, the comprehensive protection of human rights includes the protection of the public's environmental rights. Second, effective protection of environmental rights is impossible without sound and law-based environmental governance. Third, China's legislation, administration and judicature have always attached importance to the protection of environmental rights and interests. Fourth, since the 18th CPC National Congress, many laws have been revised. We revised the Environmental Protection Law in 2014, and we have modified the Law on Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control, the Law on Water Pollution Prevention and Control and the Law on Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control in recent years. We have also revised the Law on Soil Pollution Prevention and Control, with the revision of the laws on noise pollution prevention and control and on nuclear safety, the formulation and revision of other relevant laws underway. It's fair to say that nowadays, China's legislation, law enforcement and judicial system have provided just, fair and effective protection. Areas of protection include: substantive environmental rights, like fresh air, clean drinking water and unpolluted soil; procedural environmental rights, such as the right to know, to participate and to supervise regarding the environment; preventive environmental rights, including environmental impact assessments for plans and public participation in hearings; remedial environmental rights, such as consultation, litigation and other procedural rules; the environmental rights of individual citizens concerning their personal interests; and the collective environmental rights of NGOs and other environmental social organizations.
Just now, Mr. Li Xiaojun mentioned the word "confidence", with which I quite agree. Today, we can say with confidence and pride that after nearly 50 years of efforts since the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was adopted in 1972, China no longer lags behind any other countries in terms of the legal protection of environmental rights.
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