China Contributes Actively to Cause of Global Human Rights
中国为全球人权事业作出积极贡献
Ambassador Liu Yantao Published an Article in Cyprus Mail
驻塞浦路斯大使刘彦涛在《塞浦路斯邮报》发表署名文章
2022年3月15日
15 March 2022
As the 49th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council continues in Geneva, I would like to take this opportunity to share my thoughts on human rights.
当前，联合国人权理事会第四十九届会议正在日内瓦举行。我想借此机会跟读者们聊聊人权的话题。
The Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government always respect and protect human rights. In the past 100 years since its founding, the CPC has been leading the Chinese people in the fight for human rights, strving for the respect, protection and development of human rights. In its human rights practice, China has unswervingly followed a path of human rights development that conforms to the trend of the times and its own national conditions by putting people first and enhancing the people’s sense of gain, happiness and security, making historic achievements in promoting human rights at home, and at the same time contributing greatly to the development of human rights around the world.
长期以来，中国共产党和中国政府始终尊重和保障人权。中国共产党的百年奋斗史，就是一部中国共产党带领中国人民争取人权、尊重人权、保障人权、发展人权的历史。在人权实践过程中，中国坚定不移走顺应时代潮流、符合自身国情的人权发展道路，坚持人民至上，不断增强人民的获得感、幸福感、安全感，推动本国人权事业取得了历史性成就，同时也为世界人权事业发展作出了重要贡献。
A true champion of human rights
一、做保护人权的真正实践者。
China is one of the first countries to set the goal for human rights. As a victorious country in World War II, China participated in the founding of the United Nations and the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Mr. Zhang Pengchun, a Chinese government representative who was then vice-chairman of the UNHRC, played a key role in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, China formulated its first Constitution with a special chapter that stipulates the basic rights and obligations of its citizens. “Respect and protection of human rights” has also been written into the Constitution of the CPC. China insists on protecting human rights in accordance with the law. The respect and protection of human rights is manifested in law-making, law enforcement, justice and law-abidance. China has ratified or acceded to a total of thirty-six international human rights treaties, including six core UN human rights treaties, and has been elected as a member of the UN Human Rights Council for five consecutive times. China is the only major country in the world that has continuously formulated and implemented four national human rights action plans. According to the “Human Development Report” released by the United Nations Development Programme, although China was in the low human development level category in 1990, it was enlisted in the medium human development level category in 1995, and attained the high human development level in 2015. Since 2017, the UNHRC has adopted three times the resolution “The Contribution of Development to the Enjoyment of All Human Rights” proposed by China, fully demonstrating that China’s human rights philosophy and achievements have been widely recognized by the international community.
中国是较早树立人权事业目标的国家之一。作为第二次世界大战的战胜国，中国参加了联合国及联合国人权委员会等的创建工作。时任联合国人权委员会副主席的中国政府代表张彭春对《世界人权宣言》的起草起到了“关键参与者”作用。新中国成立后，中国制定的首部宪法即设立专章规定了公民基本权利和义务。“尊重和保护人权”也被写入中国共产党党章。中国坚持依法保障人权，尊重和保障人权贯穿立法、执法、司法、守法各环节。中国批准或加入共36项国际人权文书，其中包括6项联合国核心人权条约，连续5次当选联合国人权理事会成员国，是世界上唯一持续制定和实施四期国家人权行动计划的主要大国。联合国开发计划署发布的“人类发展报告”显示，1990年中国还处于低人类发展水平组，1995年便进入中等人类发展水平组，2015年已步入高人类发展水平组。2017年以来，联合国人权理事会三次通过中国提交的“发展对享有所有人权的贡献”决议，充分说明中国人权理念和成就获得国际社会广泛认可。
A staunch guardian of people’s rights and interests
二、做人民利益和权益的忠实守护者。
Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that a happy life for all is the biggest human right. A country’s human rights are essentially gauged by whether it takes a people-centred approach to human rights, and whether it ensures that the people equally enjoy broad, full, real, specific, and effective human rights, as well as protect and promote human rights in an all-round way with the rights to subsistence and development as the primary goals. In 2021, China successfully completed building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and put an end to absolute poverty for the first time in history. In 2021, China’s per capita GDP reached US$12,551, exceeding global average. China is fully committed to common prosperity, and the people’s sense of gain and happiness has greatly improved. China adheres to the policy of promoting equality and unity among all ethnic groups as well as freedom of religious belief, and has insisted on and faciliated enjoyment of human rights on a equal-footed basis. The human rights of ethnic minorities such as Uyghurs and Tibetans are effectively guaranteed. Over the past six decades and more, the Uyghur population has surged from 2.2 million to around 12 million, with average life expectancy rising from 30 years to 74.7 years. China effectively protects the rights and interests of vulnerable groups, including the disabled, and has implemented a series of drastic measures to develop the cause for the disabled. The recently released Chinese government white paper on “The Development of Sports for The Disabled Persons in China and Protection of Their Rights” reflects the progress in living conditions and human rights of the disabled. China adheres to the all-round and coordinated development of human rights, and strives to enhance and protect people’s economic, political, cultural, social, ecological and environmental rights, in order to promote and realize the all-round development of human beings. At present, it has built the world’s largest education system, largest social security system, largest medical system, and largest grassroots democratic election system. China adheres to the principle of putting people and human lives first. Throughout the fight against COVID-19, China has protected people’s lives to the greatest extent possible, and provided free treatment and free vaccination to 1.4 billion people. From new-born babies just over 30 hours’ old to centenarians, every life is fully protected. China is the country with the lowest infection and mortality rate and highest vaccination rate in the world. At the same time, China is doing its best to provide the international community with more than two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine, benefiting more than 120 countries so far.
中国国家主席习近平指出，人民过上幸福生活是最大的人权。一国人权状况好不好，根本上要看能不能坚持以人民为中心，确保人民平等享有广泛充分、真实具体、有效管用的人权，以生存权、发展权为首要全方位保护和促进人权。2021年，中国全面建成小康社会，历史性解决了绝对贫困问题。2021年，中国人均GDP达12551美元，超过世界人均GDP水平，并在致力于共同富裕，人民群众的获得感、幸福感大幅提升。坚持民族平等团结和宗教信仰自由政策，坚持和促进平等共享人权。维吾尔族、藏族等少数民族的人权得到切实保障，60多年来维吾尔族的人口从220万增长到约1200万，人均预期寿命从30岁提高到74.7岁。切实保障包括残疾人在内的弱势群体各项权益，实施一系列发展残疾人事业的重大举措，近日发布的《中国残疾人体育事业发展和权利保障》白皮书，更折射出残疾人日益提高的生活水平和人权状况。坚持注重人权的全面协调发展，努力增进、保障人民在经济、政治、文化、社会、生态和环境方面的各项权利，促进和实现人的全面发展。目前已建成世界上最大规模的教育体系、最大规模的社保体系、最大规模的医疗体系、最大规模的基层民主选举体系。坚持人民至上、生命至上原则。在应对新冠肺炎疫情中，中国最大限度保护人民生命安全，面向14亿人实施免费治疗和免费疫苗接种，从出生仅30多个小时的婴儿到100多岁的老人，每个生命都得到全力佑护，是世界上患病率最低、死亡率最低、疫苗接种率最高的国家。同时，中国还尽己所能向国际社会提供抗疫援助，目前对外提供新冠疫苗超20亿剂，120多个国家受益。
An active contributor to common development
三、做共同发展的积极贡献者。
Economic, political, social and cultural development form the basis for promoting the development and realisation of human rights. Without development, human rights are castle in the air. Hence, the forms of realising human rights in different countries at different stages of development may differ largely. China believes that there cannot be sustainable global development and prosperity when some countries are getting richer and richer while others languish in prolonged poverty and backwardness. The same goes for human rights and human development. Therefore, China has put forward the concept of building a Community with A Shared Future for Mankind, initiating and promoting the joint building of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to allow countries at different development levels equal rights to development and sharing of the fruits of development. In 2021, trade between China and countries along the Belt and Road exceeded US$1.8 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 23.6% and a record high in eight years. At the general debate of the 76th United Nations General Assembly, President Xi Jinping proposed the “Global Development Initiative” to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This is another public product that China has contributed to the promotion of international human rights, which has received positive responses and support from the United Nations and nearly 100 countries. China has also actively engaged in South-South cooperation to support and help developing countries, especially the least developed countries, in eradicating poverty. We have made the strictest country-specific emission reduction commitments, facilitated the finalization and active implementation of the Paris Agreement, and pushed for global efforts in actively addressing climate change and achieve sustainable development.
经济政治社会文化发展是促进人权实现和发展的基础。没有发展，人权就是无源之水、无本之木。处于不同发展阶段的各国人权实现形态也会有很大不同。中国认为，世界的长期发展繁荣不可能建立在一批国家越来越富裕、另一批国家长期贫困落后的基础上。人权和人类的发展亦是如此。为此，中国提出构建人类命运共同体理念，倡导并推动共建“一带一路”，让世界不同发展水平的国家获得平等发展的权利，帮助各国共享发展成果。2021年，中国与“一带一路”沿线国家货物贸易额超1.8万亿美元，同比增长23.6%，创8年来新高。在第七十六届联合国大会一般性辩论上，习近平主席提出“全球发展倡议”，推动加快落实2030年可持续发展议程。这是中国为促进国际人权事业贡献的又一公共产品，已获得联合国和近百个国家的响应和支持。中国还积极开展南南合作，支持和帮助广大发展中国家特别是最不发达国家消除贫困。我们做出最严格的国别自主减排承诺，推动达成并积极落实《巴黎协定》，推动全球积极应对气候变化、实现可持续发展。
A firm defender of equity and justice
四、做公平正义的坚定维护者。
Human rights have historical, specific and practical contexts. Evaluating the human rights situation of a country must not disregard its historical, cultural traditions and actual conditions, especially the urgent needs of its people, nor force upon it standards deemed to be right by another country or other countries. This should be the golden standard for fairness and justice in judging human rights. For islands and low-lying countries, sea level is a human right. For landlocked and desert countries, access to water is a human right. For food-deficit countries, food availability is a human right. For countries mired in poverty, development is a human right. For countries in turmoil, peace is a human right. China is willing to work with all parties to respect the diversity of human rights, uphold the concepts of equality and mutual trust, inclusiveness and mutual learning, win-win cooperation and common development, vigorously promote the common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind, actively promote the development of global governance on human rights in a fairer, more equitable, rational and inclusive direction. So far, China has established human rights dialogue and consultation mechanisms with more than 20 countries and regions. There have been 37 rounds of China-EU Human Rights Dialogue. China is willing to enhance mutual understanding and properly handle differences through frank and friendly discussions, but we will never accept accusations of “human rights preachers” based on lies and rumours, especially from those countries that have bad human rights records themselves and are totally unqualified to lecture others. We firmly oppose political manipulation, economic bullying and institutional confrontation in the name of human rights.
人权是历史的、具体的、现实的。评价一个国家的人权状况，不能脱离这个国家历史文化传统和现实条件，特别是广大人民的急切需求，不能以某个或某些国家自认的标准来衡量，这也是评判人权的最大公平正义。如对岛屿和低地国家，海平面就是人权。对内陆和沙漠国家，水资源就是人权。对食物匮乏的国家，粮食就是人权。对深陷贫困的国家，发展就是人权。对内部动荡的国家，和平就是人权。中国愿同各方一道尊重人权的多样性特质，秉持平等互信、包容互鉴、合作共赢、共同发展的理念，大力弘扬和平、发展、公平、正义、民主、自由的全人类共同价值，积极推动全球人权治理朝着更加公平、公正、合理、包容的方向发展。截至目前，中国已与20多个国家和地区建立人权对话和磋商机制，中欧人权对话已举行37次。中国愿通过坦诚友好的对话增进理解、妥处分歧，但绝不接受“人权教师爷”基于谎言和谣言的指责，尤其是自身人权状况劣迹斑斑的个别国家更没有资格充当“教师爷”。我们坚决反对打着所谓人权的幌子搞政治操弄、经济霸凌和制度对抗。
China and Cyprus have been true friends of mutual respect, understanding and trust. We are strategic partners with common principles and values, and a good model for mutual appreciation and mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations. We share many important consensus and common concerns in the field of human rights. China supports Cyprus’ candidacy for UNHRC membership. China will continue to have in-depth exchanges with Cyprus on a wide range of topics such as the concept of human rights development, diversity of civilizations, climate change, global public health security, and sustainable economic and social development, so as to jointly promote the continuous progress of the human rights in our two countries, bring greater welfare to our two peoples, and make greater contributions to the cause of global human rights.
中国和塞浦路斯是相互尊重、理解、信任的真朋友，是拥有共同原则和价值观的战略伙伴，是东西方文明互赏互鉴的好榜样，在人权领域拥有许多重要共识和共同话题。塞浦路斯正在竞选联合国人权理事会成员国，中方对此表示支持。未来，中国愿继续同塞方就人权发展理念、文明多样性、气候变化、全球公共卫生安全、经济社会可持续发展等广泛议题进行深入交流，共同推动两国人权事业不断进步，为两国人民带来更大福祉，为世界人权事业作出更大贡献。