While it spreads its influence through initiatives to settle international disputes across continents, it is also projecting its interpretation of charges the international community levels against it on various issues. Human rights is one such.
China ranks close to the bottom in the global human rights index, especially for the manner in which it treats its religious and ethnic minorities.
Perhaps vexed with negative reports from the West, it now projects itself as the world’s leading voice on human rights, disseminating messages on how to promote those rights.
The theme of the conference was, “Equality, cooperation and development: The 30th Anniversary of Viena Declaration and programme of Action and Global Human Rights Governance.
It jointly hosted by the Information Office of the state Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and China International Development Cooperation Agency.
Mid-June, China held a Forum on Global Human Rights Governance, with more than 300 scholars, officials and experts of the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations from nearly 100 countries sharing their views on how to promote human rights development amid the increasing threat of geopolitical conflicts.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a special message the conference saying that at a time of severe challenges facing the global human rights governance, China stands for safeguarding human rights with security, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.
Calling on all countries to follow the path of peaceful development, and putting into action the Global Security Initiative, Xi said China stands for advancing human rights with cooperation in the spirit of mutual respect and equality, putting into action the Global Civilization Initiative, and deepening exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.
The president promised he believes in promoting human rights much in contrast to the Western allegations about how China treats Uyghur Muslims in Xinxiang. He said his country is ready to work with the rest of the world to act on the principles enshrined in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, push for greater fairness, justice, reason, and inclusiveness in global human rights governance, and promote the development of a community with a shared future for mankind.
The conference appeared to be a well- orchestrated eulogy for Chinese human rights. Scholars and officials from developing
countries and international institutions praised China’s achievements on human rights developments, especially on poverty alleviation and they shared their prospects on how to promote developing countries to be more engaged in global governance.
For instance, Akmal Saidov, first deputy speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oily Majlis of Uzbekistan and director of the National Human Rights Center of Uzbekistan, praised China’s role in protecting human rights on the international stage. He said it is becoming more and more important, and it has more and more international influence, noting that the significance of the forum lies in the ideas to promote fairer and better cooperation on the respect to each country’s needs in exploring the pattern for human rights that fits them the best.
The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is usually vocal about advising China to improve its human rights record. Many of its reports attest to this.
However, at the conference, Veronica Birga, chief of staff from the Office, expressed her appreciation for China for hosting the important event to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action.
The praises shortly gave way to the crux of the matter: the China-West standoff on human rights.
The Chinese media quoted analysts to say that regardless of the international community’s urgent calling, the US and some Western countries have beefed up their efforts to politicize human rights issues and to use them as weapons to contain developing countries.
Their attacks and hypes on topics related to China’s Xinjiang, Xizang and the Hong Kong regions in the last few years are one example, media reports said.
The reports merely echoed the sentiments of Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu who said at the opening ceremony of the forum that some Western countries, which neglect their own problems on human rights, have been keen on “plying like lecturers” to point fingers on other countries and to contain these countries’ development, leading to the politicizing of multilateral platforms and increasing confrontations.
Global Times spoke with a participant, Chang Jian, a professor and director of the Center for the Study of Human Rights at Nankai University, who said the communication on human rights of the Global South is not to counterweight the West. China, like many other developing countries in the world, is a member aiming to promote, enrich and practice the contents on human rights.
Chang said the US and the West have acted with selfishness in worrying and hyping that China and other developing countries are working to contend the steering wheel.
But in fact, what China and the developing countries are doing is to enrich the global governance on human rights.
“We always say that we need cooperation, not confrontation, we need to tear down walls, not build more obstacles. The US should not fear the diversification of human rights as the real global leadership is to show inclusiveness, not impose one’s own pattern on others,” said Chang.
This is not the last the world hears of Chinese initiatives on human rights. China appears intent on tossing the rights abuse charge back into the court of the West by spreading its philosophy that links human rights with development.
As President Xi told the conference, China advocates for promoting human rights with development, putting into action the Global Development Initiative, and ensuring fair entitlement to human rights by people of all countries through modernization paths with their own characteristics. What this means to the Uyghur Muslims who have nearly lost their culture, language and customs is another matter altogether that this conference sought to overlook.
Source: THE GENEVA DAILY
