Better life, safety are China's priorities for human rights protection

Editor's note: Chang Jian, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is the director of the Center for the Study of Human Rights at Nankai University in Tianjin, China. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

The Universal Periodic Review Working Group of the UN Human Rights Council is holding its 45th session in Geneva from January 22 to February 2, reviewing the human rights records of 14 countries, including China, which has submitted its National Human Rights Report before this round of review, fully expounding China's development path and concepts of human rights, and demonstrating the country's specific measures to protect human rights.

Over several decades of exploration, contemporary China has gradually developed a unique approach to advancing the cause of human rights, characterized by China-specific concepts, goals, a structure of human rights, strategies and methods of promoting human rights.

In terms of its goals, China orients itself to prioritizing human development. This approach considers the free, comprehensive and common development of human beings as the fundamental value to be pursued in advancing the cause of human rights.

This orientation toward promoting human development has led to a new understanding of the structure of human rights, resulting in five categories of rights that are functionally interdependent and mutually constraining. The right to development, as a purposive right, is central to all other rights, providing them with a value basis and the direction for their realization.

The right to subsistence, as a fundamental right which provides the basic conditions for realizing the right to development, consists of the right to life, the right to basic living standards, the right to health, the right to social security, and environmental rights.

The right to participation, as an instrumental right to provide the conditions for realizing comprehensive human development, consists of economic rights such as the right to work and property rights, political rights such as the right to vote, the right to information, freedom of expression, political participation and oversight, social rights like the right to education, and cultural rights including participation in, enjoyment of, and benefits from cultural activities.

The right to freedom, as a subjective right to ensure the free development of people, includes personal freedom, freedom of opinion, expression and belief, as well as the right to privacy.

The right to equality, as a binding condition for realizing the common development of all, ensures equal protection of rights and special safeguards for disadvantaged groups, including ethnic minorities, women, children, the elderly, the disabled, and the extremely poor.

In terms of the strategies for advancing the cause of human rights, China places great emphasis on the conditions necessary for the realization of these rights. China protects human rights through security means to maintain a stable social order and create a safe living environment, so that there is reliable legal protection for everyone's lives and personal safety and property.

Meanwhile, China promoting human rights through development involves laying a solid economic and material foundation to enhance the level of human rights protection through economic development, so that the level of protection of all human rights can be continuously enhanced in the process of economic development.

Furthermore, China advances human rights through cooperation focused on fostering mutual trust in society, building consensus, coordinating efforts, and forming a synergy to advance the cause of human rights. This strategic approach has been further extended to global human rights governance. China has put forward the Global Security Initiative, the Global Development Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, which call for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and creating a peaceful environment for the realization of human rights; placing development at the center of the international agenda, enhancing the inclusiveness, universality and sustainability of development, and ensuring fair enjoyment of human rights by all peoples; and that different civilizations and countries should treat each other with mutual respect and equality, strengthen exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and forge consensus through dialogue.

In terms of the methods for advancing the cause of human rights, China emphasizes a balanced and coordinated approach. Firstly, China has adopted an integrated strategy combining legal guarantees and policy promotion for human rights. This involves improving the legal system, and formulating and implementing policies to ensure these rights are practically realized. Moreover, China has made full use of scientific and technological development to enhance the level of human rights protection.

In terms of the relationships among different rights, China seeks to balance and coordinate the protection of civil and political rights with that of economic, social and cultural rights, and to balance individual rights with collective rights. This also includes ensuring universal equal protection of rights while providing special protection for specific disadvantaged groups.

Regarding the entities involved in advancing the cause of human rights, China calls for collaborative efforts among the government, businesses and social organizations to form a synergy in this endeavor.

Lastly, concerning the prioritization and evaluation methods in advancing the cause of human rights, China combines a comprehensive approach with a focus on key areas, while integrating process-oriented and results-oriented methods. The aspirations of the people for a better life are taken as the starting point and the ultimate goal of human rights development. Issues that are of urgent concern to the public are given priority in human rights protection, and the people's sense of gain, security and happiness are used as key criteria for assessing the progress in advancing the cause of human rights, so as to promote human rights pragmatically.

The concepts, strategies and methods China employs in advancing the cause of human rights, have effectively promoted the free, comprehensive and common development of all its people. In 2022, the average life expectancy of residents in the Chinese mainland reached 78.2 years, and the average years of education of new entrants into the workforce reached 14 years. In 2023, China's disposable income per capita reached 39,218 yuan ($5,451), an increase of 6.1 percent. China's ranking in the UN Human Development Index (HDI) has continued to rise. China joined the ranks of medium HDI countries in 2001 and high HDI countries in 2013. This progression highlights the distinctive advantages of the concepts, strategies and methods China employs to promote human rights and facilitate the free, comprehensive and common development of its people.

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