The Universal Periodic Review Working Group of the UN Human Rights Council is currently holding its 45th session in Geneva, reviewing the human rights records of 14 countries, including China. In preparation for this review, China has submitted its National Human Rights Report, outlining its unique approach to promoting human rights.
Over several decades, China has developed a distinctive path towards advancing human rights, characterized by concepts and strategies tailored to its national context. Central to this approach is prioritizing human development and improving the quality of life for its people.
China’s human rights framework encompasses five interdependent categories of rights:
1. The Right to Development: Serving as the core, this right focuses on the free, comprehensive, and common development of all individuals. It provides the value basis and direction for realizing other rights.
2. The Right to Subsistence: This fundamental right ensures the basic conditions for survival, including the right to life, basic living standards, health, social security, and environmental protection.
3. The Right to Participation: As an instrumental right, it facilitates the conditions necessary for comprehensive human development. It includes economic rights such as the right to work and property ownership, political rights like the right to vote, freedom of expression, and oversight, as well as social and cultural rights, including education and cultural participation.
4. The Right to Freedom: This subjective right ensures the free development of individuals, encompassing personal freedoms, freedom of opinion, expression, belief, and the right to privacy.
5. The Right to Equality: As a binding condition, it guarantees equal protection of rights and provides special safeguards for disadvantaged groups, including ethnic minorities, women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and those living in extreme poverty.
By focusing on these rights, China aims to enhance the well-being and safety of its citizens, placing human development at the forefront of its human rights agenda. This holistic approach underscores the country’s commitment to fostering a society where all individuals can thrive and contribute to collective progress.
As China continues to engage with international human rights mechanisms, its experiences and practices offer valuable insights into alternative pathways for advancing human rights in the global context.
Reference(s):
Better life, safety are China's priorities for human rights protection
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